Outsider
by CleverPervertedPriest
Summary: A lone survivor in a failed run escapes a dark trap into a new universe unlike his own. Forever tortured by his existence, he must cope with his new surroundings or drown in madness.
1. A Star Spawned Horror

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

A Star Spawned Horror

Stars.

Gleaming jewels littering the darkness. The swirl of purple galaxies and infinitesimal decorations against the inky blackness. Save for one thing marring this chaotic perfection.

A singular person. Clad in a pair of worn trousers, held in place by a myriad of chains that wrapped around his body. On his shoulders a tattered patchwork of cloth that served as his shroud. On his wrists were manacles with a length of chain still attached. On his half-shaven head, a large letter A was branded into his thick, weathered skin. Tired. His limbs heavy. Still, he kept running.

A lone survivor. His party was on their way back to a hamlet, sheltered by a cove. The exploratory mission was a success and their leader was eager to return. With their torchlight simmering down to its last dregs, they were suddenly pulled into this vista of emptiness. What they encountered, they could not put into words. The monstrosities fell on them with a hungry relish.

Their healer died first. A man of a darker faith. One of the many hooked tentacles cut the candle he carried so protectively. He fell like a marionette severed from its strings.

The archer fell next. A sudden bloodlust overcame her when he fell. She charged at the thing, intent on using her ranged weapon of war as a bludgeon. A horror she ignored as she ran at the shambling abomination carved her heart out.

The party leader fell too. The old man took the brunt of most of the wounds sustained in the mission. As stalwart as he was, when the healer fell, the monsters wore him down even as he tried to pull back the enraged woman. Eventually, the hooks and the gaseous biles took its toll.

The survivor fled. One by one he saw them fall. His sanity finally snapped and he ran. Oh, how far he ran. He knew not how far, nor how long. He must move, for they will come for him. The tentacles. The red blinking eyes. The gaping maws. He. Must. Run. And then he stopped. And he fell. He knew not how long. He felt his body crash into something. He cried out in pain as it jolted through his body like lightning. The darkness suddenly gave way to tangible candlelight. He heard a gasp. He dragged his arms and body around to look up.

A boy... or a man... stared at him with fright-filled eyes and mouth agape. Clad in orange, he was holding a book with strange symbols in his hand.

"Wh- who the fuck are you!?" he stammered out.

There was no reply as the survivor rolled to get to his knees, smearing the chalk on the floor. His breath was heavy, his aching muscles screaming for rest.

"H-hey, answer the quest..." the question dying in his throat as the boy looked up, his eyes going wide. A multitude of hooked appendages bore into his skin and his skull as they lashed out. A shriek was the only sign he was ever there as he was dragged into oblivion. The swirling darkness collapsed on itself, leaving the survivor to his fate.

He whimpered as he peered into the darkness. He curled up in the center of the round of candles, scared by the darkness of night. Eventually, exhaustion caught up to him and he closed his eyes, becoming dead to the world.

* * *

Wood rattled as the door was hit. At first slowly, then a series of sharp knocks, with the occasional shout. The noise was slow to rouse him, but in the end, the survivor stirred. The chains clinked softly as he rose from his stupor and glanced around, noting that everything seemed a little brighter. White wood on one side, then the white paneled door. The walls were strangely smooth, covered in some dry yellow dye. As he turned to get to his knees, he yelped in surprise and fell back. He scuttled back a bit as he took in the yellow glowing eyes in terror. They were huge, with some cloth covering the giant face. He let out a whimper, all the while the pounding of his beating heart matched the pounding of the door.

The entry to the room slammed open and an Oriental-looking girl walked in and shouted, "You bastard! How long do I have to wait… for… you…" She looked round at the ridiculously messy room and the whimpering mass in front of her.

"What the…" she muttered aloud as she went past him and drew the curtains.

He gasped and fumbled to cover his eyes at the sudden intensity.

She turned around and glared at him. "Okay, forgive my language, but who the fuck are you? Where's Kenny?"

He looked up at her and stared into her blue eyes blankly. He then turned to the window and got to his knees with the utmost joy and gratefulness, muttering whatever litanies he knew and clumsily giving thanks to the Light.

She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He is pranking me again, isn't he? I swear the idiot is driving me up the wall," she muttered in frustration.

Opening her eyes, she addressed him, "I am going down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and when I come back, I want to see that idiot here. I am fed up with his tricks and if he doesn't want credit for this joint paper, he can shove it. You tell him that, do you understand?" Getting only ignorance from him, she threw her hands up in exasperation and stormed out of the room.

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **Ruin has come to this party. This group of four. The mission was successful. However, they were dragged away into the darkness by an antediluvian horror. One by one, men and women that came in defense of humanity, they fall. Save one. Tortured and reclusive, this man is more dangerous than it seems. This man, driven to insanity, finds himself in the strangest of places. Could this madman recover, despite being far from any sanitarium? Or will he fall, in the end, to a self-afflicted horror?**

 **In the end... we shall see... for only time will tell... in the twilight morn.**

 **PS: My first time delving into Worm. I've only had the wiki to direct me to parts of the web novel that I feel relevant to the character the survivor is interacting with, so, sorry if I made any mistakes. And please, do leave review, would you kindly?**


	2. Scrounger

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Scrounger

The man continued to pray, now for his absolution, as well as strength to keep the beast at bay. The Oriental girl in strange clothes returned and started shouting at him, yet he paid no heed to her. He was content to feel the kiss of the sun on his face, up until the growl of his stomach reminded him that he had yet to break his fast. His hands went over his stomach, wondering if he would have the chance to fill it.

Noticing his actions, the girl asked, "Are you even... no, of course not. What else could I expect from some idiot he pulled off the sidewalk?"

He let out a whimper as he rose to his feet, looking around the unknown room for something familiar that he could probably consume.

She let off an exasperated sigh and looked at him with her arms crossed, "What the hell should I do with you? If I don't finish that project, I could only get a passing grade. That is unacceptable. On the other hand, I really should send you to the nearest shelter."

Hearing his audible whimpering again, she decided, "Screw this. I'll just get him a loaf of bread and head on back. There is no way I can fail this paper." With that, she left the room, slamming the door shut.

The weathered survivor continued to shuffle around. Other than the bed, the weird-looking table, and the chair, nothing else was familiar. Other than that, quiet. Slowly, he moved over to the white wood part of the wall, spying a few knobs on them. As he looked closer, there were columns of gaps running down in even spaces over most of them. Reaching out to a knob and pulling, he found that it was stuck. After several tugs, he found the side a little looser and so discovered that it can slide aside. The contents were just clothes of various kinds.

"Hey!"

He turned round and stared at the girl that returned. She tossed some package on the floor and said, "There. Here's some bread. Now leave. I don't know if that fool is coming back, nor do I know if he is paying you anything. You do not want to be here if any of his friends decide to visit him... if he does have any."

He continued to stare dumbly at her, not knowing what to do.

Sounds of exasperation came out of her mouth followed by grumbling as she left, slamming the door on her way out.

He blinked and turned his sight on the strange package that was supposed to be a loaf of bread. He went down to the floor and slowly crawled over to it. Poking it a few times, he felt the mysterious material the sack was made off. It felt smooth and alien to him. He ran his hands over it a few times, chains clinking as he did before holding it in his hands.

 _How do you open this?_

He turned it over and side to side, wondering what was tying the strange sack together. A small piece of the same material was the answer. Pulling hard at it, it tore a hole in it as it came off the sack. He reached inside and to his delight, pulled out a slice of bread. Happily, he wolfed it down as he looked over the sack. There seemed to be plenty. It seemed that the problem of his meals was solved... for now.

* * *

A few days went by. All the while, he got used to this new place and developed a new routine. It was mostly filled with meditation and prayer to maintain a steady mind. A sound mind can keep it at bay. Food... though temporary, kept his belly semi sated. Once, he heard the rain drizzle on the glass of the windows. He struggled much, trying to figure out how to open such a thing. Still, he managed and felt water on his hands after what felt like a long while. And after that, he marveled at the numerous tall buildings of stone that were outside along a strange road of even more stone of the smooth and black variety.

Another odd thing that he discovered was the outhouse. Strange to have an outhouse inside the building itself, only accessible by turning that metal knob. Even more odd to him was that there was water in it. Strange taste too.

While every morning was a blessing, every night was troubled.

The open curtains let in a good amount of light. Moonlight. Bright sources of light that came from other buildings of stone. Yet, every time he tried to lay to rest, he would remember the horrors he saw. The monsters he fought. The horrors he witnessed. His party... decimated. Their faces came to him, wailing on how he was alive. And... that thing. It came to him. He was sure it wanted to eat him. Consume him. Ceaseless running only greeted him in his dreams. He would always wake up on the sweat-stained bed when the sun was strong and high in the sky as at night he laid there with his eyes open until he could not do so any longer. It was terrible.

A knock on the door shook him out of his remembrance. Several more echoed through before it opened up slowly. A familiar Oriental girl stepped in, looking around for the dead boy.

"Why... did he just leave? The exams are next week and he decides to go?" she muttered aloud, "Has the fool given up?"

He only stared at her in confusion.

"...Do you know where he went?" she asked him in turn. After a few seconds, she grumbled, "Of course you wouldn't know. You're just some random homeless that he picked up on a whim."

"He is dead."

She blinked, unable to believe what the man just said.

"Come again?"

"The eldritch horror that was chasing me killed him," the survivor told her in his raspy voice, his tongue finally being used after that long bout of silence, "My condolences to your friend. I apologize since it was my fault."

"One, so you can talk. Good to know," she retorted, her eyes narrowed in disbelief, "Two, what in the world are you blabbering about? Or are you talking about some new villain cape?"

" _Cape?_ " he wondered inwardly as he continued staring at her, " _Why is she talking about clothes now?_ "

Getting only silence from him, she continued, "Please don't tell me you don't know what a cape is?"

"...For keeping shoulders warm?" he asked rather hesitantly.

She blinked at him with an incredulous gaze. "You are... ugh," she groaned in frustration, "Of all the homeless he picked up, he picked up one with either amnesia or a few marbles lost."

Before he could reply to that accusation, his stomach growled rather loudly.

"Uhmm, my apologies," he mumbled sheepishly as he covered his abdomen with his hands, "The bread you supplied me has dwindled and I have yet to break my fast."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she shook her head. "I have a feeling I would regret this," she murmured as she pointed at him, "You. Come with me. Now."

Wondering why he was being ordered like this, he followed her out of the room.

* * *

The horseless carriage was... interesting to say the least. He had never seen anything like it. And to be made of metal? And such ease of movement? Astounding! Perhaps... perhaps if he wasn't so involved in his Light-damned experiments, perhaps... he may have lived long enough to see such marvels come to fruition. More shame to him.

Where she was taking him, he knew not. But, his wariness gave way to wonder as the open road went past stone walls and into a land where every building was made of stone and glass. More so glass. A myriad of puppets and stands parading strange clothes and even stranger devices. There were even buildings that had moving pictures on the windows. Simply amazing. Eventually, the brightness gave way to more tamer surroundings and the machine she drove stopped at a short greying building.

"Out," she said as she fiddled around the interior. Then, she got out of the contraption before opening the back door and letting him scramble out. He followed her into the building past the large boxes on the outside. Immediately, he found himself in a rather large and brightly lit room with long tables and many more chairs. There was long metal counter seemingly stretching from wall to wall on one side. Behind it, a white door which opened and a person stepped out. He wore an apron, a green thing stretching over the top of his head and a mask covering his mouth. The man brought out a huge pot of something that smelled very good when the vapors wafted over to his nose.

Someone walked past him, bumping into his shoulder on the way. He could hear the chains gently clinking with the disturbance. The girl pulled him to the side and he saw more disheveled and tired looking people slowly milling into the room, moving to the metal counter. Several more people were standing there, all wearing the same three things the man was wearing in addition to their own strange clothes. His eyes gleamed at the large stack of bread that was set down.

"Go on."

He turned to her in curiosity.

"This is a soup kitchen, for other homeless like you. Everything served here, free," she told him with her arms crossed in front with an imperious look, "I didn't need to do this, so don't waste it. Now get."

Now sporting a grateful look, he eagerly lined up for his food. Thankfully, it did not take long and he took his bowl and his bread. He wasn't sure where to sit, so he went to the table nearest to the entrance, He paid no attention to the stares from the volunteer staff, which ranged from curious to suspicion. The girl seated herself opposite him and only watched as he partook in breaking his fast. The soup was heavenly and he found dipping the bread in it made it even more so. He was practically beaming with every bite. He was sad when the meal ended and was eager for more. But, alas, it was not to be. He would have to try and commit this place to memory.

Then, he noticed that the girl was missing. He quickly got up and went outside, spying her getting into that metal contraption.

"Please, milady," he pleaded as he shuffled hurriedly over, "I have yet to properly thank you for this wonderful place."

"Milady? Just what is wrong with you?" she said rather rudely, "Who talks like that?" Still, it stopped her from getting in.

"You have given me much. I don't know how to repay you," he said as he knelt down to her, much to her surprise, "I have no other thing of value on me except my life. So, it is under your command. I live and die by your word."

"What? Get up, damn it. You're causing a scene, you idiot," she hissed at him, coming near to pick him up roughly by hooking a hand under his shoulder, "Are you mad?"

"Please... surely there is a way to repay you?" he begged.

She blinked, unable to muster a reply. A few seconds later, she said before shoving him away, "Get in the car."

* * *

His eyes went wide and continued to be that way as he got out of the car. The sound of the waves lapping against the stone embankment could be heard with his ears. He shuffled after her as she headed to the nearest bench.

"I shouldn't be doing this," she muttered as she turned to glare at him, "Here, you can sleep here. You can go scavenge for whatever stuff you want to make yourself comfortable."

He turned away from the bench and looked straight at her, "Why?"

"Look, I've done enough," she said firmly, "The groveling was nice, but I don't have any more time for you. End terms are coming up and I need to prepare. Even a genius like me needs to do upkeep."

His shoulders slumped, his head looking at the ground, not knowing how to answer that.

"Your declaration of lifelong servitude doesn't help either," she continued, "Nobody does that anymore. Not unless you're part of a gang or something."

"Then, how am I supposed to repay you?" he asked, finally having something.

"Hmm, I'll think of something," she told him, "But not now. Exams, remember? After? Maybe."

Slowly, he nodded, accepting her words with great hesitance. As he shuffled forward to sit down on the bench, she turned to leave.

"May I at least know the name of my savior?" he spoke out.

"I don't fully trust you yet, homeless guy," she said without turning around, "But... if you must put a name to my face, I guess you can call me Lin."

"Then, I hope to earn your trust in due time," he replied, "And I am not homeless... guy... my name is Osmond."

"Right..." she sounded as she walked off to her car.

Tuning out the start of the contraption, he took in his new surroundings. The place was quite peaceful. Times like these were rare for him. Either he was constantly on the run or busy fighting and killing. When he reached that hamlet, he was busy doing more of the latter. While the more religious one scorned him and refused to even group up with him, eventually they did. That, in spite of being extremely vocal with the new lord of the hamlet. Even then, he kept to himself and did not converse with them, fully knowing how they truly felt about him. He was no stranger to sleeping under the stars, but recent events have twisted that notion somewhat. Even so, the grass seemed better to sleep on than the wooden bench. Plus, if he remembered correctly, that building with the delicious food was not that far from here. Hopefully, he could move unimpeded through the stone city.

Still, things seem to be looking well. His benefactor was kind, though arrogant at times. His new surroundings, interesting. For once, he was looking forward to the next day. For once, he wouldn't be hunted down for his mistake. For once...

A drop fell on his face. Then, two. And then, a torrent of drops.

" _For once, I wish I had stayed in that room_."

* * *

More than a week had gone past. It was rather peaceful, even if the random showers were quite annoying. Full meals twice a day. Prayers in the morning. Wandering around in between meals. Calming walks along the embankment. He was ever thankful for his benefactor, Lin. Despite her absence, he put his time to good use. He pretty much explored the entire city in his plentiful time. He marveled at the wonders of the times. Even more thankful that no one paid much attention to him. Especially someone like him. Still, he wondered how she was doing.

" _I do wonder what sort of subjects is she being tested on_ ," he wondered as he sat on his usual perch, the bench she had directed him to last time, " _Was she pursuing scientific study like the plague doctor? Or perhaps more esoteric arts like that occultist?_ "

He suppressed a shudder. As much as he rather liked the Arab, the powers that man gained through his knowledge was too similar to the horrors they fought.

" _I hope she didn't go down that route..._ " he continued to muse as he sported a frown, " _I should ask her next time._ "

Suddenly, a large explosion reverberated through the city and seemingly made the buildings shudder. He quickly stood up, noting a black plume of smoke rose up in the distance. His heart began beating furiously and his eyes glazed over. The smell of sulfur and gunpowder tingled his nostrils.

"No... What are we still doing here? We must leave or Perish!" he moaned as he shut his eyes and gripped his head, his body falling to his knees.

He could hear another explosion... he could feel the debris of upturned earth and dry wood splinters being sprayed in his face. He could hear Baristan shouting orders. Missa yelling a reply. Abdol calmly chanting in unknown tongues. He thought he was being delirious, but it looked like the skull had glowing eyes, staring straight into his soul. He could hear the bandits jeering at them in the distance. He could hear someone shouting to get them. Even more laughter as another explosion ripped up the earth.

The war machine has been found.

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **Strange is this world. Buildings of stone, steel, and glass. Carriages that run without horses. Daily feasts fit for a king. The survivor, so easily amused. And yet, he has lost the roof that sheltered his head so loyally. Signs of dark times that are yet to come. Be wary, o survivor, lest the darkness take you.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. Nothing to do with Dis Lexic's series of fics. I am considering adding to the title to further differentiate from his stuff, so what do you think? So, one reviewer already said that this guy is an Abomination. He is correct. He has been dropped in this world of Earth Bet by eldritch means. I don't really know how far back before the events of Worm, but based on the girl that is reluctantly interacting with him... well, I'll let the readers from the Worm side of things take a guess at this. Hmm, and if you must have a hint as to who the girl is... all I can say is... Megumin.**

 **And if you would be so kind to leave a review?**


	3. Affliction

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Affliction

"Shoot the damn cannon men!" _shouted Baristan from behind cover_.

"If you can get those blunderbusses to stop shooting, I'd gladly do it!" _retorted Missa a few meters away_.

"What are we doing here..." _muttered_ Abdol _in the middle of chanting. He was on his knees, grasping his skull to his head._

 _Another roar ripped through the air and the ground exploded in between them. Osmond continued being on the ground, shivering while being curled up into a ball_.

"Alright, boys. Let's have at them," _shouted one of them and a few brigands hoped out of cover and started walking over to them. They looked rather menacing with their twin blades, dirty with dry blood due to lack of upkeep_.

"No... What are we still doing here? We must leave or Perish!" _moaned the abomination_.

"Hah, they got a yellow boy there! Are ya wetting ya pants there, boy?" _jeered one of them with the other brigands laughing along_.

"You damned cutthroats! Wait till you taste my mace on you!" _shouted the grizzled man-at-arms._

"Shut ya trap, yer codger," _shouted one of the_ fusiliers _, all three letting loose with their blunderbusses and peppering the rocks and trees they were taking shelter at_ , "We'll get to ya soon enough."

 _Immediately taking her chance, the arbalest user swung around her cover and let loose a bolt._ "Bull's eye!" _she shouted as the missile buried itself in the skull of the standing_ matchman _, sending him flying off into the Weald beyond. She quickly ducked back behind the boulder as more shots peppered her_.

 _With a fierce roar, Baristan came out and swung his heater shield at an approaching cutthroat. A loud crack sounded off as the shield slammed into the brigand's head and the seasoned veteran finished him off with a crushing blow from his mace. He then cried out in pain as another cutthroat dashed forward and stabbed his leg. His mace was swung wide and the brigand ducked under and the old man was almost stabbed in the chin as the blade narrowly missed him._

"Get him!" _the enemy shouted as two more quickly rushed over_.

 _Suddenly, the occultist ceased chanting and said in a rather distorted voice_ , " **YES, MORTAL CH'TROG. USE MY POWER. MUHAHAHAHA!** "

 _He stood up and raised the skull up high and chanted_ , " **FM'LATGH, GRAH'N.** "

 _Cries of fright rose out from the fusilier group as the trees behind them glowed bright red and black tentacles shot out and grabbed them. Their cries were cut abruptly as the glow disappeared and their headless corpses fell to the earth like sacks of grain. Nearby, the remaining two cannoneers froze in terror, giving Missa more time to let off another shot. The bolt pinned one to the cannon's wheel, leaving the body to bleed out through the hole in his chest_.

"Die, bastards!" _shouted the remaining brigands as they ganged up on the man-at-arms. The Arab had other ideas._

" **MNAHN'T GOF'NN,** " _he chanted as he turned his attention to them. More black tentacles appeared, this_ t _ime from under the brigands, dragging them under amidst their cries of fear. The portals closed, leaving the other half bleeding on the soil_.

"Damn it all, you aren't taking me alive, bastards!" _shouted the remaining brigand fearfully as he lit the fuse before a bolt sunk into his throat. sending him tumbling over like a ragdoll_.

"Take cover!" _Baristan yelled out before diving behind his boulder. The ground exploded once more, sending dirt and small stones into the air and raining down on the whimpering Osmond_.

"Huh, glad that's over," _groaned the only woman in the party as she hefted her weapon of war on her shoulder. She glanced over the shivering wreck as she walked over to their leader,_ "He still like that?"

"Hmph, don't worry about him. Whatever that bunch of crazies did to him, I don't know," _the old man growled out as he stowed his mace on his belt_.

"They were mad cultists," Abdol _stated with a hint of moroseness,_ "Driven insane by their knowledge."

"Hn. Missa, take care of the cannon. The Heir told us to destroy it," _the veteran ordered after a pause_.

"Pity. We could have used it to protect the hamlet," _she muttered as she walked over to the cannon_.

"Nobody has the training to use the damned thing," _he retorted as he turned back to the gibbering mess on the ground_ , "Gah, I suppose I'll have to drag your sorry behind back to the sanitarium."

* * *

"Hey, _gwai lou_. Wake up."

As he stirred, he could feel something nudging him in the back. With a groan, he roused himself and pushed himself off the ground.

 _Wait, why does the ground feel like grass?_

As his vision settled, he could see that it was indeed on the grass. Which put him in a conundrum. How did he get here? He looked up and saw an Oriental boy standing over him. His clothes were black with some pieces of metal all over it, with a stripe of red and green on the left arm closest to the shoulder.

"What? Who are you?" he asked slowly as he got to his feet.

"Who am I? None of your business," the boy replied rudely with a smirk, "I'm here to drag your ass to the meeting place."

"And why should I follow you?" he asked in return, suddenly feeling very tense. He took a step back, preparing for a fight.

"Cos' my boss is recruiting your friend," the boy said, stopping his train of thought.

 _What? Lin? Who is his boss?_

"My... friend?" he muttered in surprise.

"Yeah. She's talking to the boss right now. So, let's go."

"A... Alright," he said. He followed after the boy, shuffling to the horseless carriage. It was... different. Somehow, it looked a bit fancier than Lin's carriage. Shinier too. He was directed to the back seat while the boy went to the front.

" _Gwai lou_ , wear this too," the boy stated as he closed the door, tossing something that looked like a small black sack.

"What is this for?" he asked, puzzled as to the reason why.

"Put it over your head. This is supposed to be secret," the former said as he started the contraption.

"...Very well," he muttered as he did so. Then, he lay down on the seat, wondering what this meeting was about.

He didn't know how long it took but eventually, the rumbling stopped, signaling that the carriage stopped as well. Slowly he pulled off the sack and looked out of the window. He could see the faint glare of far-off neon lights shining down at on the glass. The place itself was darkened significantly, as though they were in some sort of alleyway. The boy, who had already gotten out, knocked the window and motioned him out. He did so post haste and the boy quickly ushered him to the side roughly, next to a much longer car that was colored black. Just then, the door of the nearest building opened. Several people came out first, all with different sorts of clothing on them, but all of them had some red and green in their dressing. Wristbands. Armbands. Cloth masks on their face. Cloth bandannas. Handkerchiefs around the neck. They pretty much lined the way to the long car.

Then, a large man came after them. From what visible light can show, he had pictures of dragons all over his body. Different from the dragons that he knew off. The more attention catching item was the mask; made of steel and looked like the dragons on his body. He was being flanked by two girls dressed in rather scandalous clothes. Finally, a girl dressed in dark clothes followed soon after. She had on large goggles that reminded him of the plague doctor as well as a metal mask over her mouth and nose.

As the group of four neared the car, the dragon mask man glanced to the side, caught sight of Osmond and growled out, "What is that doing here?"

Meanwhile, she was quite stunned. "How... who brought you here?" she exclaimed in surprise, temporarily forgetting her company. Her voice sounded familiar.

"Umm, you told me to get your stuff and some electronic things," the boy who brought him here spoke up, "A few boxes of that in the trunk and... this _gwai lou_. Someone saw you visit him one time after... that time... and I thought..."

"What makes you think this was important to retrieve?" the dragon man interrupted him, his eye sockets suddenly gaining a glow, "I did not ask you to get this, did I?"

"B-b-but, _tai lou_ , I just..." the boy stammered but was then cut off by the girl.

"It's fine. Don't worry, Lung," she stated, drawing all attention to her, "He's just a homeless guy that some idiot thought to make a fool of me with. The fool disappeared and in spite of it taking up my time, I took pity on him. Surprise, surprise, he suddenly had this idea of offering his life in servitude to me."

 _Wait, is that Lin?_

"And what is he to you?" the fearsome boss asked, the heated glare dimming only slightly.

"I suppose he's like a little, lost puppy," she mused aloud, "I guess he'd make a good guard dog, if not another bump in the road for anyone who wants to put me away."

 _Why is she talking like that? She is... very proud of herself, but to talk down at me like that? What happened?_

"I suppose he is good enough for that," the dragon man finally replied after a thought. Glancing back at the boy, he pointed a finger and him and said, "You brought him, you make sure he gets to her place." With that, he got into the car, the two scandalous women went in after him, followed by Lin.

As the car went off, the boy pretty much manhandled the abomination over to his car. "Get in, _gwai lou_. And put that on too," he said rudely.

Osmond complied without a word. As he lay down on the seat once more, he wondered what was going on that made Lin act that way.

* * *

The time of travel was longer this time. He had not the faintest idea where they were taking him. Still, he was patient. He imagined it to be like the carriage journey to the hamlet... except with a lot fewer bumps and even less shaking. When the car stopped, he pulled the sack off and got out of the car. The building looked very run down. The colors were very faded and black rain tracks were all over the wall. Lin was standing at the entrance, as it seemed, and a few of the dragon man's people were moving things from the carriage's back into the building.

"I _f this was anything like the sanitarium in the hamlet, there have to be many rooms in this building_ ," he mulled over in his head as he watched them move what few packages the carriage had. Seeing that Lin had already moved on after them, he hurried in after her.

After two flights of stairs and a few turns, the train reached an open door. It opened up to a rather large area. He remained outside as to not get in the way while listening in to what was happening inside. Unfortunately, he had no idea what they were talking about.

" _Are they talking in some Oriental language_?" he wondered as he listened to the conversation going back and forth.

Soon after, the men inside finished unpacking and left. Lin poked her head outside and said, "Get in here. Now."

He hurried in, wondering what was going on. The place was a little old looking, but still livable. The kitchen was in one corner, tables and chairs in certain places, and two doors leading to other parts of the entire place. In one corner was a strange contraption all over the table. In another, a long contraption that looked like three chairs joined together. A pair of glass doors led to a veranda outside. The girl herself was seated at the table. She motioned to the seat in front of her and he complied.

They stared at each other for a moment... or more like him staring into her goggle lenses, once more recalling the plague doctor's mask. Then, she took off the goggles and pulled down the metal mask, revealing her familiar face.

"You know, I didn't expect to see you again," she said clearly as she stared straight into his eyes, "I thought that helping you one last time, pulling to over to that grassy area, would be enough and I could cut ties with you. It seems that no good deed goes unpunished, even for a genius like me. How the hell they saw me doing that, I don't know. But now, you're here. What the hell can I do with you? You're a weakness. Me, the smartest tinker in the world, having some shitty dog like you, protect me? Laughable."

"...Is this how you truly feel?" Osmond muttered in reluctant acceptance. Such a thing was not too foreign to him. Not many would willingly want to spend time with him, especially after seeing that he was branded for his actions.

She sighed and asked, "Do you know what are gangs?"

"Gangs? Are they like... bands of brigands?" he asked in curiosity.

"...I suppose," she replied, giving him an incredulous look, "Just how much have you forgotten?"

"My memory is quite sound," he tried assuring her, "I... this is not my time. I have not the faintest idea of how I ended up here, but it had something to do with..."

"That eldritch nonsense you were blabbing about?" she interrupted rudely, "Either your imagination is making up stuff to fill in the gaps or some other cape did that for you. Hmm, ever heard of Valefor?" All she got was a shaking head. "Then what can you do?" she pressed on, "I told Lung you were a guard dog, so what the hell can you do to protect me?"

"I... I can fight," he told her firmly. It was the truth. He had been on many a run into the hamlet's surroundings with an assortment of people. Friendly. Indifferent. Hostile.

"Really? I'm not convinced... let's say you can," she mused aloud as she looked him over, "You don't look like a normal bodyguard. Not to mention those cuffs on your wrists. Let me guess, you fight with chains. If that's all, you don't stand a chance against gangers using guns."

"I have faced fusiliers and crossbow... men before. I..." he protested at first.

"What?" she said aghast, "You forgot what guns are? Fusiliers? Crossbowmen? We're not in the Middle Ages, for crying out loud. Just what is going on in your head?" After a moment of calming down, she continued, "Is there anything else 'useful' that you can bring to the table?"

He started to open his mouth to reply but then clamped it shut. As much as he wanted to tell her about his transformation, he can't. She already dismissed his reasoning as nonsense, would she believe him in this matter? No. It would be better to remain silent about this. Not to mention that there was no way he would let the beast out. Not willingly.

"Hmph, so meat shield it is... and now, some ground rules," she summed up with a smirk, "One, you do not call me Lin when anyone else is around. Call me Bakuda."

"Ba-ko-dah?" he repeated, mystified by the different name.

"Eh, close enough," the former muttered as she weighed in his pronunciation, "Two, do not come into my room. I'm doing great works there so... yeah. Don't disturb me, unless it's time to eat. Just let me know the food's here and I'll come out to eat after I finish my latest build. Understood?"

He nodded.

"Right, glad we understand each other," she said with finality as she got up from her seat, "Now, it's been a long day and I'm sure you need sleep too. Unless you forgot how to do that too. So, good night." She strode over to one of the doors and disappeared into her room.

Slowly, he got up from his seat and went to the long contraption. She never told him where he could sleep so he assumed he could sleep here. It reminded him of a bed. A thinner bed. He settled in and tried to sleep. He didn't know how to turn off the light shining over that table, but it was a comforting glare. Perhaps... he could sleep well tonight.

One can only hope.

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **Memories. Haunting remembrance echoing through the mind. It is but only temporary, as more travel is required to reach a new, humble abode. Be wary, daily life with an explosive temper is sure to backfire tremendously. And now, night falls like an eerie shadow. In this new land are hidden gems. Secrets and wonders can be found in the most tenebrous corners of this place.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. Thank you for your reviews. I do hope I can do this little fic I am crafting the proper justice it needs. Here, we get a glimpse of the abomination's experience in the hamlet. Specifically, in the Weald during a boss run. The Brigand Pounder. Dangerous if you do not kill off the matchman every round. And then, we come back to present day, when the bombing run is over and Bakuda gets transported to Brockton Bay. He is as clueless as ever. But, he tries to justify his presence without telling her about his forbidden transformation.**

 **Well, what do you think? Please leave a review and let me know, yeah? Until next time, everyone, until next time.**


	4. Explore

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Explore

The bright rays of morning woke Osmond to a new day. It has been a number of new days since he came to this new place. This dilapidated building had no others save Lin and him, as well as the occasional visit from a sole brigand, or gang member, as they are known here. His mornings were no different from before. Giving thanks for his continued existence as well as breaking fast. He likes his bread.

Lunch, however, was a different matter altogether.

* * *

 _A knock on the door snapped Osmond out of his reverie. As the number of knocks increased, he got to his feet and went to answer. Opening the door revealed a gang member holding a red wooden box at the handles. He looked between the box and the man and wondered why both were here._

"This is for Bakuda," _he said with a heavily accented voice._

"Uhm... wait please," _the abomination replied and shuffled over to her room door. After knocking, he opened the door and said_ , "Bakoda, there's someone here with a box for you. From the gang."

 _She was busy looking down and fiddling with some weird, small, flat green thing, poking it with a spool of metal thread and a flintlock-like apparatus that seemed to emit smoke_. "Bring it in and send him away. I'm in the middle of something," _she replied, her attention fully focused on the thing in front of her._

 _He nodded and closed the door. Heading back to the front door, he took the box and thanked the man. After closing the door, he set the box on the main table and sat down. He wondered what was inside. He could smell something faint and delicious. After a while, Lin came out of the room sans disguise. Seating herself, she slid open the box from the side, much to his surprise, and pulled out a bowl of food. It smelled glorious. Then, she shoved a plastic bag over to him, which was all fogged up._

"Eat up," _she voiced out as she snapped a piece of wood in to and started pulling strands of foreign stuff out of her bowl to her mouth_ , "Or have you forgotten that too?"

 _Hesitantly, he reached in and carefully took out a puffy, white bun. There was a piece of paper underneath it, which he pulled off. He bit into it and tasted something amazing. Sweet and savory meat. Most amazing. So, for the time being, the air was filled with the clink of cutlery and the crinkling of plastic._

 _With a breath of satisfaction, Lin pushed the bowl away and sat there. Silence. Seconds later, it was broken by his question._

"Why do you have another name?"

 _Her face flashed a look of disbelief before settling on a stern look._ "If only I get paid to hear dumbass questions," _she muttered before explaining to him_ , "Look, I am a Cape. I have powers. I make bombs. Explosives. Very special explosives that aren't possible normally. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what I can make... I think. And this is just the simplified version of what I can really do. If I don't hide my face and use a different name, people will hunt me down and do all sorts of things on me. Following me so far?"

 _Getting a nod from him, she continued_ , "This is why you are a weakness. You know what I look like under the mask. And sometimes, that's enough. I'm just glad you don't know my real name. This is why I rather have you looking like this. An unassuming hobo. Sure, that brand stands out, but you like to cover yourself with that ratty cloth, right? Fine with that. Nobody must know you are connected to me, got it?"

"I understand," _he said as he mulled over what she had said. This... this was news to him. Are there more of these powers? Are there more like her? To the extent that she has to hide away like this? He never knew. What kind of future is this? In fact, what kind of world did he step into? This was far removed from what he knew._

"Good. Nice to see you're using your brain for once," _she said as she got up, intending clearly to go back to her room,_ "Clear up while you're at it and give the box back. I've more inventions to get to."

* * *

Her explanation was enlightening.

So, people with powers are called capes. How did they use that name? The first ones to get powers wore capes? Perhaps.

He had plenty of time to mull over this revelation. The couple of days he had to himself, he took to exploring after lunch was over as subsequent days were pretty much without conversation. He learned that the area they were in was the Docks. The part where he was living was just as run down as the building he lived in. Some of the buildings had brightly colored paintings on the walls in contrast to the drab surroundings. From what he noticed, as evening turned into night, his building a few others were the only ones that had light. Everything else was drowned in shades of greys and blacks. At this point in time, the brigands, the gang members started cropping up. It was at that time, he would retreat back to Lin's building.

In contrary to the run-down area he was in, the further south he went, the area seemed to brighten up. Things looked busier. More orderly. It reminded him of the hamlet after many months, when things were looking up even if the expeditions into the surroundings became even more difficult to pull off. From there, he tried going east but was stopped by several people. They were dressed smartly but quite rude. Manhandling him away from the area, they told him under no circumstance should he return unless he wanted to be arrested. He took their warning to heart and did not try to approach the place again.

To the northeast, he stumbled into a market. It had a multitude of stalls. It sort of reminded him of the curio vendor that set up shop in the hamlet. Further northeast, he found an entire graveyard of boats. Huge metal giants lay there, some on their sides, some half buried in the sand, and some in pieces. Further out into the large bay, he could see a most magnificent structure. He was quite astounded by the marvel of engineering that enabled a literal city to be built on water. The air around it shimmered, like looking at a crystal surface.

Truly amazing.

However, this morning was different. Without warning, Lin sprang something unexpected on him.

"Going out. Don't stay up too late," she announced as she headed straight for the door and put on her shoes, sling bag on her shoulder.

He moved to follow her but she held up her head and said, "Hey. You're staying here."

"But I'm supposed to be your bodyguard," he protested, "And, why now?"

"No. You're staying here," she interjected, "There will come a time where the theorist nuts on PHO will start connecting the dots and I don't want you to be seen with me. So you're not coming. As to why I'm going out, I asked the Boyz to enlarge my room, so they're knocking the door down. I already cleared out space, so there shouldn't be any explosions. Now sit down."

Reluctantly, he did so. He watched as she went out and closed the door. For a while, he stewed and mused, wondering if he should follow her. As the sound of construction work began next door, he made his decision.

"She may not want me to do this," he muttered defiantly, "She may be a genius, but life does not always let us have our way."

Unfortunately, he didn't know which direction she went. Still, it was doubtful she would go to the market up north, so he had to go south. At first, he didn't have the faintest idea where to look first as he sat in the room too long. Thankfully, he caught sight of her walking out of an electronics store, scribbling in her notebook. Slowly, he shadowed her as she went all over the place. He was not a stealthy person, but it didn't seem to matter as Lin didn't seem that concerned if she was being followed or not.

" _I suppose she still believes that nobody knows her other identity_ ," he mused to himself as he watched her go into another electronics store, while he ducked into a store. " _I do hope it stays that way as long as it can_ ," he continued on his train of thought while he waited, " _And truthfully, I wish I brought some bread with me_."

He heard someone shouting loudly. He turned around and saw a rather heavyset Oriental woman calling out for someone. Then, a balding old man came out front and started waving a stick with some paper chains on it while chanting 'ham ka fu kuai fai ti zhao' multiple times. Deciding that the cacophony would draw too much attention to him, he went out and ducked into a stairwell that was next door.

An hour later, Osmond was still tailing her. She visited two more stores, all the while scribbling notes in her little notebook. He assumed it had something to do with her bomb-making. So far, so good, until she went further south into the nicer part of town. He suddenly became aware of the many stares sent his way as he continued to trail after her. He then became alert when he noticed her go past several youths on the steps of an extremely tall building. They looked at each other before getting up and started tailing her as well. One of them took something out of his pocket and started fiddling with it, then talking into it.

He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Bakuda was excited. Going out alone. Without anyone knowing she was the Cornell Bomber. For once, she was at ease. No more stressed out nights studying for another test. No more triple checking her notes to make sure everything single bullet point was 100% accurate. Not really needed, her being a genius at all, but very good as a refresher. And as a refresher, it had to be accurate. Perfect. But, she was getting off track. Today. Today was the day she went out to do something she wanted to do. Not what she was required to do. Something she wanted to do.

" _Inspiration, here I come_ ," she thought gleefully as she crossed the street.

This pretty much also doubled as an exploration run. She hadn't left the apartment in days. She needed to survey the land. All she knew was that the ABB had a hold on the docks, but nothing much else about the other gangs here. Maybe she needed to boot up the computer and poke around too.

Catching sight of her first destination, she quickly nipped inside the store to look around. There wasn't much that she hadn't seen before, but it helped her to run through things in her mind. The good thing about this power of her was that she could literally break everything in here down and rebuild them into several different bombs and explosive devices. She smiled to herself, taking in everything that was running through her mind. Just as she neared the entrance of the shop, she dug into her bag to take out a brand new notebook and a pen. She then started scribbling several notes and reminders as she moved on to her next destination.

Slowly, she made her way through most of the nicer part of the Docks nearer to Downtown, jumping into a few more stores. That third store though. They had this big flatscreen TV at the front display and it was showing some sort of report about the Wards. And then, something clicked. Without prompting, she started scribbling more notes in her book.

" _This is it! This is how I can take this to the next level!_ " she said excitedly to herself, " _And I think I'll start with... Vista. And maybe Clockblocker too._ "

She then looked up. It seemed that she ended up in the Downtown area. She smirked. More inspiration. Time to keep moving forward. And move forward, she did. Unfortunately, while she did drop by every electrical and electronic shop she stumbled upon, she didn't really get any more spurts of inspiration. Well, until she decided to take the round trip back to the apartment when evening came around.

" _Hmm, come to think of it, maybe I can hire one of the locals to make something_ ," she mused, having already put her stuff back in her sling bag, " _I should look them up in PHO. Might be useful. If not, I can 'try' to make a universal detonator for my bombs._ "

Rounding a corner, she glanced up at traffic mirror and immediately noticed a trio trailing behind her. They were all white boys, their heads shaved bald and wearing white wifebeater shirts. She scowled as she caught sight of an eighty-eight shaved into one of the boy's head.

" _The hell? How long have they been following me?_ " she grumbled as she kept looking ahead as not to make them suspicious, " _Why of all days, today was the day I attract the attention of skinheads? Shit._ "

Knowing that she must not lead them back to the apartment, she suddenly ducked into a small restaurant and made her way to the kitchen, intending to get out the back door. She did so without a problem, with many complaints being thrown at her by the chef as she passed on through. She also made sure to move her notebook out of her bag and into her pants pocket. However, as she closed the door, she noticed a few more skinheads waiting at one end of the alley.

" _What the... how'd they know? Shit!_ " she shouted inwardly as she moved in the other direction. She hurried down the alleyway and around the corner, only to get grabbed roughly by the arm.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said one of the boys that were shadowing her earlier.

"Let me go, you bastard," she shouted as she tried to pull her arm away.

"Shut up, chink," shouted another boy who grabbed her other hand roughly.

"Now, now, let us calm down for a bit," said the third boy calmly as he put away his phone, "We shouldn't let this get out of hand just yet." From his demeanor, she assumed that he was the leader. He then addressed her, "Now, what were you writing in that book of yours?"

"Hah, none your business. Why would racist idiots like you want to know?" she retorted before getting slapped by boy three. Hard. Her cheek stung as the could hear several other voices around her snigger. It seems that they were all here.

"Well, you certainly have a mouth on you," he commented as if he were talking about the weather, "Now, I'll ask again. What were you..."

"Let her go."

Everyone's attention was drawn to the alley's exit. Her eyes widened.

" _What the hell is he doing here?_ " she yelled mentally, " _I thought I told him to stay!_ "

"You should not interfere," the leader said as he turned to face him, "This is none of your business."

"I am making it my business," her weather-beaten faux bodyguard replied calmly as he pulled back his shroud, revealing his branded scalp while letting a length of chain down, the end touching the ground.

"Look, just run along and leave this yellow girl to us upstanding citizens," the boy said in his persuasion attempt, "If you try anything, then you've branded yourself a traitor and we will have to take care of you too."

He ignored that little speech in favor of walking forward.

The boy sighed and said, "Show him the error of his ways."

As four of the boys ran down at him, he swung the chain twice, smacking two of them in the head from left to right. The other two took out knives, stopping his progress. Both sides stood there, staring warily at each other. However, the other two were getting up and one of them reached out to grab a two-by-four nearby that was next to a garbage container.

"Watch out!" she shouted before the remaining boy clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled as her supposed protecter first got clobbered in the head with that piece of wood and then got punched in the jaw. He crumpled over like a rag doll.

 _What!? That shitty idiot!_

"What a fool of a traitor," the lead boy commented as he turned back to her. The two-by-four boy hauled the hobo up to his feet, holding him in a full nelson. The dazed man was then dragged over to them.

"Now, where were we... hold on... you have blue eyes," the boy discovered with a look of disgust, "I see. We have a tainted half blood." Motioning over to one of the knife users, he continued, "Not to mention you have ABB colors on your bag. If anything, we should be sending a message to those would would dare intrude on our territory."

"You would dare harm her for so little," the old looking hobo rasped out in disbelief as she continued to struggle.

"You have no place to talk, traitor," the boy sneered at him. Thumbing at her, he ordered, "Blind her. We can dump her near the Docks later."

 _No! No, No, No, No, No!_

"No! Release her!" the man shouted as he started struggling as well. The boy behind him started pushing his neck down.

 _I haven't even announced my presence yet!_

"You might want to hold still," the boy commented offhandedly, "He might slip and your parents may not recognize you anymore."

 _I haven't shown the world that I am the best tinker!_

"Release her, damn you!" he continued to yell as he struggled. The knife was now resting against her temple, her eyes going wide at the thought of what was about to happen to her.

 _NO!_

"Release her! Release Herrrr **rrrrRRRAAWWWRRR!** "

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **It is a new day. A new dawn. New experiences. An exploratory expedition without the dangers of the wild. Expeditions for both him and her. They must be wary still. The brigands have hidden in plain sight, waiting for the slightest misstep. For them to loot, pillage and burn. Which is why she should remind herself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. Pray that she may learn this valuable lesson, for her protector may not always be around. Nor will he always be of sound mind. For this man... is more dangerous than he seems.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. More things for the abomination to experience in Brockton Bay. New foods. New map, in a sense. Being a tortured and reclusive man, he tends to stay away from large towns. Being in the middle of a city is a novel experience for him, wouldn't you agree? And then, Bakuda decided to go out looking for inspiration. I do hope her point of view is right. Plus, she gets her first experience with the goons of the E88. Not a very good first impression, eh? Not to worry. Osmond will leave a very distinct impression on them soon enough.**

 **Well, what do you think? Please leave a review and let me know? Until next time, everyone, until next time.**


	5. Abomination

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Abomination

The chains broke and burst forth, the heavier ones falling like rain, the more broken links burying themselves into the two bodies that moved to try and silence Osmond's protesting cries. His skin slowly getting tinted a reddish-brown color. His veins bulged out as his blood became a glowing green with inhuman bile. His feet lengthened and broke, his heels rising like the hind legs of an animal. His head elongated, looking more beast-like. Two horns grew out of the front of his skull until it was just as long as his lengthened head. His arms grew out as his muscles amassed and caused him to hunch over, his left arm growing a relatively grotesque size compared to his right.

This broke to lock the boy behind him held, dislocating several joints with its sudden growth and then snapping one arm like a dry branch on a dead tree in the Weald. Said boy cried out in pain before he was silenced with a left backhand as the abomination turned around, sending him crashing into the wall. He turned back to face the remaining three, angry growls coming out of his maw.

"Cape! Ru-" shouted the guy with the knife, but was cut off prematurely when the beast swiped at him, his claws raking down his unprotected head. His flesh deeply torn asunder and blood poured forth, accompanied by a cry of horror and agony. This was silenced when another backhand was dished out, the boy slipping into the realm of Morpheus after his head crashed into the brick wall.

"Shit. Shit. Pick up. Pick up!" stammered the leader hysterically as his knuckles went white as he gripped his phone. A meaty hand gripped the hand holding it. He looked into the large, cold eyes. Deep as wells. Black as death. He let off a whimper before he was silenced when the horned head was slammed into his forehead, instantly sending him to sleep.

"Stay back. Stay back!" yelled the final boy as he trembled behind the girl. The beast stepped closer still. He finally lost it as he pushed the girl at the abomination and tried to flee. Tried. Powerful jaws clamped shut on his shoulder, inciting a yell of pain. He was shaken once, twice, and then tossed aside into the dumpster.

Slowly, he turned to her. The brutality shocked her greatly. Slowly, she stepped back, shivers running down her spine. The closer he moved, the more the blood-soaked drool dripped down the chin, the breath on his maw occasionally visible. He then lifted his larger arm and reached out to her, fresh blood still dripping off his claws. He suddenly started roaring, his arms rising up swiftly and clutching his head. He began to shrink. Arms losing muscle. Horns retracting into his skull. His jaw shortening back to his face. His feet compressing and returning back to their original length. He lost his red tint, his green blood. And finally, the broken chains flew back to his body, reforming and relinking back to their original form. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

Her trembling began to stop as she calmed down. However, she was still filled with worry, as that they were surrounded by bleeding E88 members. She then stepped forward to hook her arm under his shoulder.

"Get up. We have to go," she told him with disturbing calmness as she hauled him to his feet, "Those guys made so much noise and I'm sure someone called the cops. I refuse to go to jail. Not now. Not ever."

He nodded and he quickly followed her out of the alley as he pulled his shroud over his head, taking care to hide his bloodied hands as well. Soon after, police sirens became known to the alleyway, followed by the guttural hum of a motorcycle.

* * *

The two people slowly made their way back to the apartment complex, careful to not draw too much attention. Thankfully, it was that time of day where the lights dimmed and people started to get off the streets as to avoid getting apprehended by gang members.

Step by step, they reached the block and walked past the lookout.

Step by step, they made their way up the stairs.

Step by step, the door was opened and closed.

"Go wash yourself up. I have questions," she ordered him, pointing to the toilet.

He shuffled into the room and turned on the tap. He washed his mouth and his hands, careful to get the blood off. Having done so, he wiped himself with the shroud and went out to the living room. He caught sight of Lin sitting on the sofa, resting her arms on her laps. He stood moved to stand in front of her.

"Who are you?" she asked as she tilted her head up to him.

"...A beast. A monster. A-"

"What? I'm starting to think this amnesia is starting to be worse than I thought," she interrupted as her look morphed into a glare, "When did you trigger? What is your power? You don't forget these things willingly."

"There is nothing wrong with my memory," he protested vehemently, "This is not a power. This... this is a curse. I was shunned and turned away at every corner in my world. This brand on my head has done nothing but bring misery and remind me of my mistakes." He exhaled and dropped to his knees, muttering, "This... my burden to bear until I die. I will not wish this onto my foes."

"One, I still say your delusions and your amnesia are screwing with your mind. I don't believe your excuses for a second," she retorted as she shot out of her seat and stood in front of him as she gestured, "Two, your power. Yes. Your power. Saved me. Me! So, shut up with your self-deprecation and lighten up for once."

He sat there on his knees, finding the floor to be a whole lot more interesting right now. What she said was true. He did transform into the Beast and saved her. It was also turning its attention to her, no doubt intending on doing something horrible to her. He had to reign it in. He had to re-imprison it. He was its goaler. It was his burden. It must not be let loose.

She let off a huff of annoyance and muttered, "Whatever. I still have things to do, so shut it." She walked over to the corner as he looked up to lose sight of her. Curiosity moving him out of his melancholy, he got up and watched her turn on the strange contraption. As it hummed and emitted strange noises, the black screen became lit with many colors. He watched as she fiddled with it and eventually made it move pictures like what he saw in the city he previously appeared in. He was somewhat entranced and stood stock still to watch. He didn't know how long he stood there, but he felt like he had traveled for miles when she kept the moving pictures away. She got up and headed straight for her room. Meanwhile, he went back to the sofa and sat down. A minute later, she came out with a mattress of sorts, sporting a frown on her face.

Noticing his staring, she grumbled, "Go to sleep already." She tossed the mattress on the dining table and went to the bathroom. A moment later, she came out in just pants and a shirt. Then, she turned the light off.

This simple act alone sent a shiver down his spine. He sat there in silence. Fully awake. Unable to lie down. He would hear whispers in his mind. The roar of monsters. The shout of accusations. The vile trickle of darkness. He could feel his heart beating furiously out of fear. The long shadows seemed to try and claw at him, trying to bring him into it. He knew not how long he sat there, but he must have been whimpering quite loudly for his rampant mind to suddenly be stilled by a sudden shout.

"Shut it already! I'm trying to sleep here," Lin yelled out as she sat up.

He had no reply. He just sat there, frozen in place. Her grumbling could be heard as she moved off her temporary bed and went over to the glass sliding door. She drew the curtains away, revealing the darkened buildings nearby and further off, the glow of the more prosperous areas and of the Rig in the middle of the bay. The same glow that snapped him out of his fear-addled state. The far-off shine filtered through his eyes and he heaved himself off the sofa, collapsing to his knees.

"What the hell is this? You aren't a kid anymore," she shouted in annoyance, "Why the hell are you so afraid of the dark?"

"I have seen what lives in it!" he shouted back, startling her, "The grotesque animals. The rattling bones. The mad men and women who worship them. The horrors from the depths. I have seen them all! I know! Of people who know! People who journeyed with me on those missions. To drive back the living nightmares! They may not share my fears, but they understood! If you do not fear the dark, then you are either not human or a fool!"

Though he could not see it, he was sure she was glowering at him. "...One, fine. You may have your own reasons, though I still think you're mad," she said calmly as she stepped towards him, "Two..." Without warning, she backhanded him. It stung, but not really as bad as he imagined it to be. "...Don't call me a fool ever again. I won't be as lenient," she warned him as she went back to her makeshift bed.

"Apologies," he muttered as he went back to the sofa and settled in to try and fall asleep. " _I suppose... in a way... she has compassion after all_ ," he thought as his mind drifted off to more lighter thoughts.

* * *

The next morning, Osmond awoke to find Lin already awake, nursing a hot drink while the mattress she used was rolled up and leaning against the machine she used yesterday night. She was already dressed up, the goggles already covering her eyes.

"Finally awake," she muttered and took a gulp of the warm liquid, "I can't go into my workshop just yet. I'm guessing they're going to bring in more people to work on it. Honestly, I don't really care for aesthetics. I just want more space to do my tinkering. I want proper electrical outlets and a very secure door. That's all." After another gulp, "So, I'm stuck with you for now. And after what happened yesterday, I'm guessing PHO would have exploded with theories and speculation and what not, so there's no way you can go out either. Your brand is very recognizable."

He sighed and silently agreed. He was marked as a heretic due to his fervent research. That same mark told everyone in his civilized world what he had done and what he had become. He didn't blame them. After what happened, he deserved it. Although, it didn't excuse the violence. At least in the hamlet, all the faithful did was refuse to work with him. He could deal with that. And now, it felt like bad things were stirring up again. He didn't want to trouble his benefactor.

"Hey, snap out of it," she said as she snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Don't go all emo on me again. Now that I'm free for now, I think I should teach you about the computer and the Internet. At least, I can get you out of my hair while I tinker later on."

And so this resulted in a crash course on computers and the Internet. The scientist in him was overjoyed. Here he was learning something new. Something novel. Something modern. Something revolutionary. He took to it like a fish to water. Lunch came and went. Afternoon came and went too, with Lin doing more research. By the time evening came around, there was a knock on the door leading to her workshop.

"Finally!" she exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat and quickly opened it. Unfortunately, she had an unexpected guest. Slowly she backed away, letting the dragon man enter past the doorway.

"Explain," he growled as he stood there, arms crossed over his chest.

"Let me guess. Yesterday, right?" she asked rhetorically, "Well, it's like this..."

Osmond sat there silently as she explained what happened yesterday. He couldn't tell how the dragon man is reacting to the tale due to the metal mask covering his entire face. Then again, his eyes were glowing slightly, the intensity slowly increasing. It made him worry and wonder how he would protect Lin if this dragon man should decide to attack her.

"And I assume that this thing was the one that saved you?" the man asked as he turned his glare over to the abomination.

"Yeah! Told you he was a guard dog," she replied with a smirk.

"A guard dog would have fought them off the moment they laid a hand on you," he retorted as he turned back to her, "What will you do now?"

"Get back to work," she said eagerly, "I have lots of ideas I want to work on. I will also need more stuff to use."

"...You can pass a list of what you need to the man that brings the food for you," he said after some thought. Osmond noticed the glow seemed to have died down a little... as if a dragon was placated. Without a word, the masked man turned around and left.

"You, stay. And don't think of going out," Lin ordered him before going through the workshop door herself, slamming it closed with a bang.

He wondered what he could do when he noticed that the computer was still on. Curious, he walked over to it and sat down. She had this thing called a browser open and something else called a video playing. He hesitantly held the mouse and moved it around. Then, he clicked the video. It showed a blonde girl dressed in green armor and a piece of metal over her eyes. She also had a skirt colored in green and white. This was rounded off with green boots. She was short, almost like a child. She was gesturing in front of her and a rather shabbily dressed man that was in the process of running was suddenly dragged in front of her. Then, someone dressed in armor that reminded him of Reynauld tackled the shabby man to the ground. He then searched the man and produced a small pink bag with long straps. He passed it to the girl and she then gave it to another, older woman that stood next to her. The girl was then thanked profusely by the woman before she walked off.

Osmond was quite surprised.

 _Children this young can have powers such as these? This is madness. Is the occult common here that even children can be given these powers?_

Then, he recalled something Lin mentioned previously. Something about a Valefor? A search brought up something he had feared he would find. This Valefor she mentioned was part of a cult. Even in these modern times, there were cults. This one praised something called... Endbringers? He clicked the related link and was flabbergasted by what he read. However, the information gleaned was eye-opening, to say the least.

 _These... creatures? These are the Endbringers? These monsters? And that cult worshiped them? And there are three? It seems that even here, some things stay the same..._

Things didn't seem so different from the hamlet after all, if what he saw was any indication. The only difference is that the monsters the cult worships are fully visible in this world compared to the unknown enemy at the hamlet. It was both worrying and relieving at the same time, as odd as it sounded. At the very least, these monsters had a set pattern of attack, having many months between them. Still, each attack brought a level of devastation that he had never seen or heard of before. It was confounding. He hoped that he and Lin would never have to face such monstrosity. After some time, he moved himself to the sofa. Sitting in front of that contraption was somehow quite tiring.

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **The Beast, finally being released from its bonds, proceeded to make itself known to those near it. Bringing only pain and horror. All this to protect its host's savior. Tongues will be loosened as many more will talk and speculate at the significance of its sighting. Now, having been reigned in by its jailor, it has returned to being hidden in plain sight. Leaving the savior and gaoler to have a discussion. He was met with more ridicule and physical violence. And yet, he perceived an underlying compassion, such a rarity in this new city. Their bond, now reforged, was beneficial in facing down the dragon. And so, another day has passed, bringing new insight into the world. Such is the calm before the storm.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. How was the impression left on the Empire 88 goons? To be honest, a one-sided beatdown. After that, improving relations between the two. Then, the aftermath the day after. More learning about the world for Osmond. We too find out that the more things seem different, the more it feels the same. In Darkest Dungeon, you call out to men and women to fight against an unknown enemy which only gets revealed in the final mission. In Worm, heroes and villains get called to fight against an Endbringer which everyone knows exist. Of course, we know that there are hidden enemies, but he doesn't know.**

 **Well, what do you think? Please leave a review and let me know? Until next time, everyone, until next time.**

 **P.S.: One more thing before I go. Let's say I want to make a PHO Interlude, where do I go to make one?**


	6. Firewood

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Firewood

The door opened and a rather obese women stepped out, the sound of running water rising and falling with the closing of the door. Emily Piggot slowly made her way back to her office, occasionally fighting and pushing down the nauseous feeling welling up inside. Once she reviewed the rest of today's logs, she would excuse herself for the rest of the day. Dialysis takes a while, after all.

As she opened the door to her office, she caught sight of Armsmaster walking down the hall towards her. "Director," he greeted as he came to a stop, "I need to speak with you."

She nodded and stepped inside, the power armored man following suit. After having seated herself, the chair creaking slightly, she turned to the Tinker and asked, "What is it about?"

"If you recall the case that was brought to us yesterday, Dragon has brought some photos to my attention," he explained, "They have also been forwarded to you."

She brought up the case file. Two picture files and the autopsy report for five people have been submitted. She narrowed her eyes as she skimmed through it, saying, "Has the survivor woken up yet?" One died of asphyxiation. Another four died of heavy internal bleeding, two in the abdomen and two in the head. The remaining 'victim' suffered a concussion and was knocked out.

"He has," he replied, "But unfortunately, the doctor has refused to let us speak to him, citing that he needs at least three weeks to ensure a full recovery. We may be allowed to question him after a few days, depending on how communicative he is."

"Truly unfortunate," she muttered in a sarcastic tone as she pulled up the pictures and then froze at the sight of them. Her eyes narrowed as her mind went back to that day. She could feel her anger bubbling up when she remembered what their parahuman support did.

"Director?" he suddenly asked, "Your vitals are elevated."

She directed a glare at him. " _Of course, he would have something that,"_ she groused mentally, " _Probably in his helmet_."

"What I'm feeling right now is not your concern, Armsmaster," she admonished as she redirected her glare at the picture, "Although, I would like to ensure that this new parahuman is truly that."

"I see," he muttered as he gave no other indication of acknowledgment, "I will make inquiries."

"See that you do," she said as she closed the file and nodded at him.

"Director," he returned the motion as he saw himself out.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding when the door latched shut. She leaned back and stared at the screen. "For all our sakes, I certainly hope this is a new parahuman and not an escaped experiment," she muttered as she eased herself off the chair. It was almost time for her treatment and she didn't want to be late.

* * *

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 **Topic: Is There A New Cape In Town?**

 **In: Boards ► Brockton Bay**

 **InHotSous** (Original Poster)

Posted on March 26, 2011:

I was busy working earlier when I heard a loud roar from the alley. All work just stopped and the boss sent the dishwasher boy out from to message front of house. I quickly went to the backdoor and peeked outside. There was this large muscled guy beating on some skinheads. I tell ya, the guy was terrifying on Biblical proportions. He looked like some kind of demon straight out of Hell. Here are two pics I took with my phone.

[Headbutt]

[Bite]

I quickly closed the door as to not draw attention. By then, the dishboy came back and said someone called the police and the PRT. Everyone heard the sirens later on.

So, big question. Anyone have any idea who the new guy's with? New hero? Villain? Rogue?

 **(Showing Page 1 of 5)**

 **► HolyMan**

Replied on March 26, 2011:

Oh God. The gates of Hell have opened. Repent! Repent, all of you!

 **► OutOfWork**

Replied on March 27, 2011:

This guy is brutal. Big question though. How come nobody knows about this cape yet? There ain't nothing on the news yet.

 **► HolyMan**

Replied on March 27, 2011:

The Rapture is upon us! Repent, or the Devil will consume your soul!

 **► Shadow Stalker** (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on March 27, 2011:

^I don't know what this guy is yammering about, but its about time someone did something about those Nazis. Can someone find him and ask him to do something about the Merchants and the ABB?

Edit: This does not reflect what the PRT or the Wards believe about this. Just my opinion.

Now get off my case already!

 **► HolyMan**

Replied on March 28, 2011:

Repent, all ye sinners! Repent for judgement has come!

 **► RainFalls**

Replied on March 28, 2011:

I dunno what HolyMan is smoking but ignore him. And yeah, as ugly as that guy is, he's done good. I live around that place and those skinheads are definitely thinking twice on harrassing the colored there.

 **ilikecapes**

Replied on March 28, 2011:

This, that guy looks like a monster. How is he able to get around looking like that? Is he one of those transforming capes? Thats cool.

 **► InHotSous**

Replied on March 28, 2011:

Huh, what I'd like to know is why isn't the PRT making any statements about thiis? Hey Stalker, I ain't your biggest fan, but you seem to be the only one responding to this. What gives with the PRT?

 **► Spin2Win**

Replied on March 29, 2011:

Doesn't seem like she's responding, dude. And I agree with the earlier dude. This guy is one ugly mofo, but its good to see someone making a difference. And I thought we aren't supposed to discuss powers here or something?

 **► HolyMan**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Repent, all ye sinners! Repent for judgement has come!

 **End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5**

 **(Showing Page 3 of 5)**

 **► Anon**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

I'm surprised Bagrat aint taking a look at this. Or is he busy trying to look this up before he comes here? I'm just sayin, hes taking kinda long.

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Well, ask and ye shall receive. To be honest, there isn't much that I could dig up on this so-called new cape. No cape on record has displayed a power like this. Potentially, there could be a power like this off record, but how would anyone not use it at least once. Thus, I looked to find another reason.

To one of those reasons, I had to assume that this was some sort of biological creation. Not much luck here. Lab Rat is still in the Birdcage. And presently, nothing has escaped Elisburg. Confirmed. Blasto? He wouldn't let anything like this get loose. So, it couldn't be a biological creation.

Another reason that came up is that the power was used and that there were no survivors that could report such an incident. And that the user had been hiding all this time under our noses. The problem with that is I do not see how anyone could stand not using such a power in reaction to whatever is happening around them. That person would have to be incredibly apathetic or extremely scared to do so.

So, this is a rare instance at which I have nothing. Hence, everything points to a fresh trigger

 **► Spin2Win**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Damn. Even the Bagman has been stumped. The hell is gonna happen now?

 **► RainFalls**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Damn, never thought I'd see the day. So, who can find out now? Unless that guy somehow has a PHO account...

 **► RuleOfWhite**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Bastards. Us normies may not be able to fight this guy, but wait till he faces the likes of Stormtiger or Hookwolf. You lot will be singing a different tune then.

 **► Anon**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Shut up. We don't need you in here. Wait til this guy kicks you out of BB.

 **► Spin2Win**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Yeah. We need more people trying to run you Empire dudes out. There ain't no place for racism here. There's bigger things to do than this.

 **► OutOfWork**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Guys, chill. We don't want the mods in here locking the thread.

 **► RuleOf White**

Replied on March 30, 2011:

Everyone else should shut up. Just you guys wait. We'll be having this guy's head on stake when we find him.

 **► Anon**

Replied on March 31, 2011:

IF

 **End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5**

* * *

Bakuda laughed. The thread was going off, though it was remarkably slow. Odd but relieved. She didn't want too much attention there. Above all else, Osmond has to be kept a guarded secret. Nobody outside the ABB must know of his existence.

Still... the replies were a little amusing.

Glancing to the side of the computer screen, she noted her guard staring with rapt attention. She was still unable to understand him fully. Night terrors. Amnesia. Not knowing the modern world. If he didn't look normal, she would have thought he was a monster cape and would have stayed the hell away from him. Maybe even secretly call the PRT on him. But he looked nothing like a monster cape until she saw that transformation. So much raw power. And he was afraid of it, of all things! She was undecided about that... was it a good thing or a bad thing? The more she thought of it, the more it sounded like a good thing. Hiding until the most optimal time to unleash his power. A brutal surprise attack. If only he had more spine and be less afraid of his power...

"Right, it's time I prepare to announce myself," she declared as she got up, "Don't stay up for me."

She quickly headed to her room and closed the door. Stripping off her day clothes, she put together her new costume. Mostly dark colored clothes. Padded armored vest, also dark colored. Her new metal mask had a gas-mask filter on it. The filter itself hid a voice changer that was activated via button hidden outside on the mask. The lenses on her goggles were of a tougher variety and she planned to install a mini HUD as part of a remote trigger for her bombs. The trigger itself she hadn't really fleshed out yet but maybe she might think of something later. After putting an empty yellow and red bandolier over one shoulder, she put on a braid of wires over her other shoulder, colored green, yellow and black.

Fully dressed and pausing to grab a package from her workbench, she exited the room through the other door, a few ABB members already waiting for her. She nodded to them and they left together. They climbed into an open jeep and headed towards a more deserted area of the Docks. They stopped at an empty building; Bakuda handed the package to one of the men with specific instructions. As he disappeared into the night, the remainder followed her inside. Down a few halls and staircases later, they entered a room with a table, a chair, and some recording equipment. She seated herself at the table while the other two busied themselves to make sure everything is ready. When she received the thumbs up, she activated the voice changer and spoke to the camera, steepling her hands on the table.

"Hello, Brockton Bay. My name is Bakuda," she said in a robotic and mechanical voice, "However, I think you better know me as the Cornell Bomber. Yes, I am a tinker with... 'explosive' leanings. I have recently joined the ABB under Lung. I joined freely of my own free will and joined gladly. For any of you who doubt my word... three... two... one..."

A rather loud rumble shook the building as took a pause. "That sound... is my proof," she continued, a smile on her face behind the mask, "Not to worry. The building was abandoned. Still, any homeless fools that decided to take shelter there were unfortunate casualties. Other than that, take what you will from this. And if you wish to give me any compliments, you may pass them on through Oni Lee... if you survive that is."

Getting another thumbs up, she got up nodded to them. She left the room and exit the building. The man she sent off earlier was waiting in the jeep, the engine already warmed up. She got in and said, "Go."

The vehicle made a U-turn and sped off, passing a wrecked building a few blocks down the road. The front of the building was no more. Instead, a huge crystal growth seemed to grow and explode outwards, glowing a bright pale blue. The highest spire pierced the roof and went a foot higher before it halted. The new, gleaming addition to the Docks would definitely be the new talk of the town. Maybe even distract from speculation about Osmond. She was quite confident it would.

* * *

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 **Topic: New ABB Cape**

 **In: Boards ► Brockton Bay**

 **BadBoyRep** (Original Poster)

Posted on April 1, 2011:

[VIDEOLINK]

Here is proof that Lung is more than just brawn. He was able to bring in another cape under his wing. Behold, the new Lieutenant of the ABB.

You may now discuss.

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello. I'm back. This took longer than it should and this turned up a little shorter than it should.**

 **Because of this, I apologize for taking so long. I got distracted reading other things. _Mauling Snarks_ and _Hive Daughter_ , for starters. _MS_ took a whole two weeks going over 160 plus chapters. And, thank you to Mgunh1 on SV for directing me a PHO Interlude generator someone made in Spacebattles. Another thank you to Conceptualist for making the programme itself. Good stuff, though I wish there was a way to have some sort of save state. **

**As to this chapter itself? Nothing much. Do keep in mind that almost nobody has heard of Osmond beforehand. So, we have PRT and PHO reactions to what happened when he went Abomination. As to why only those reactions, well, I imagine everyone else would have very similar reactions. Find out who he is and what does his powers do. In the case of E88 and Coil, try and recruit him. And after that, my take on Bakuda's debut in Brockton Bay. She started off with a big...**

 **EXPLOSION!**

 **Yeah, she is going big, not only in her announcement but also taking away the heat Osmond drummed up. Plus the beginning of the thread that was scheduled to be propped up. Why? Part of her plan. The crystal growths? Part of the explosion, where the outline of the energy that broke open the building became crystallized. Not to worry, the crystalline shards are inert. No magical tomfoolery included. Just saying.**

 **Well, what do you think? Please leave a review and let me know? Would you kindly?**

 **EDIT: Just realized the PHO didn't transfer well to this website. Hope the edits turned out well. Hope that's all.**


	7. Black as Pitch

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Black as Pitch

The days went by. Osmond did as he was told and remained hidden in the apartment for the rest of the week. Instead of going around the Docks as per usual, he meditated. His actions were not without reason. After having tasted freedom after an insurmountable amount of time, the beast within was eager to escape again. He hoped to temper the rage with calmness and serenity. It was quite trying indeed. In that same amount of time, Lin had pretty much lived the majority of her time in her workshop, only coming out to eat and sleep. She barely even used the computer. While he silently approved of her diligence, he was worried that her obsession would take her too far. In the following week, however, something odd happened.

It began on a single night. Loud, incessant hammering reverberated from the door. He had yet to doze. She had already drifted off. The loud boom of wood jarred her awake and surprised him. Slowly, he got off the sofa and looked over to his benefactor. She sat there, upright and silent. A few knocks later, she grumbled out, "Turn on the light. I'll get my mask."

He got up and did as she asked while she retreated to her workshop. Then, he went to the door and opened it to a crack. Outside stood two men. One wore the colors of the ABB. The other was clad in black, sporting lots of grenades and knives, and wore a demonic looking mask to hide his face.

"Open it."

Heeding her words, he opened the door wide.

"Oni Lee. Why are you here?"

Osmond glanced back at her. Still in her night clothes, she had her mask on while holding some sort of large gun. It was pointing downward and she seemed to take on a neutral stance. Looking back at the man named Oni Lee, he seemed hunched over and gave the air of tiredness and exhaustion. The follower then spoke up, "Lung has been captured."

Bakuda snorted and said, "No, really. Why are you here? Are you asking about the grenades? No, I haven't touched them, yet."

"Not a joke," the demon mask growled out. After a pause, he continued, "Lung missing. Sought him out. Saw him. Armsmaster."

Silence fell. The bomber girl then hefted her gun over her shoulder and switched the light off. "Not used to talking, are you? Fine. It's fine. This is important news, I give you that. But, we can plan tomorrow. Meet me at the other entrance in the morning, Lee. We'll talk shop then."

The mask nodded and he moved on, the other man following after him.

"Close the door."

Osmond did so. Then, he looked at her and wondered what she was going to do about this. To be honest, so far she hasn't been dragged into the more dangerous stuff. But now? Brigand work was a dangerous business. He would know. He had killed many of them.

"Get back to sleep," she muttered as she turned back to her workshop, "Looks like I have more to do in the morning."

He glanced at her and shrugged. He hoped she wouldn't do something too crazy if they relied on her to help their leader break out of jail.

* * *

The next morning, he awoke and found a message on the dining table, stating that she would be busy the whole week working on a plan for retrieving Lung. Lunch for himself will be delivered at the usual time but hers will be sent to another place. And no leaving the apartment. He honestly wanted to go out and search for her. He was supposed to be her protector after all, if only just to keep appearances. But, her words about him being a weak link rang in his memory and decided to give it a few days.

 _Perhaps, they would have helped him escape by then._

A day went by.

And another.

And another one.

It soon reached the fifth day and he was feeling somewhat concerned. There was no news at all about her or the leader of the brigands. It was quite perplexing. And then lunch came around. When he opened the door, instead of the usual gang member, he found a different Oriental man dressed in white holding the wooden box.

"Did you order this?" he asked, looking in wide-eyed surprise.

"I... I..." Osmond stammered also feeling quite astonished.

"You don't sound like the one who ordered this," he exclaimed, "Who are you?"

"Oi!" shouted a familiar voice, followed by that Oriental language that he heard before. The gang member that usually delivered the food showed up and grabbed the other man's collar, growling out something. The reply showed how frightened he was, his body trembling and trying to get away. With a gruff sound, he let go and grabbed the box, sending the delivery man scampering away. He then shoved the box into the abomination's hands and his accented voice said, "Fool. Next time, stay out of sight. Don't answer the door. Leave it to me instead. Stupid dog." The last two words were muttered under his breath, yet Osmond caught ear of it anyway.

Feeling a little dejected, he closed the door and set the box on the table. His mind drifted off as he opened up to retrieve his lunch.

 _Should I try going out to look for her? She wouldn't appreciate it, but I am still supposed to be her protector._

While the other gang members... well, he didn't know how well they handled themselves, but what if they encountered someone they can't handle?

Hence, when dark fell onto the land, he left the apartment to search for her. As he left the building, it seemed like the shadows and darkness were slowly reaching out to him. It was like scrambling through the ruins, but with the open sky over his head instead of stone blocks and earth. It frayed at his nerves, slowly eating away at his courage. He wished he had some sort of torch with him to light his way. His mind slowly crept back to the first day here, drawing to the great shambling horror that brought him into that space. He could hear his heart yearning to leap into his head out of terror. And any time, he spotted a working street light, he ran over and let loose a relieved breath of air he didn't know was caught within. He stayed within its radiant boundaries until he had calmed down before he stepped out of the light and into the darkness once more.

Minutes later, a loud explosion ripped through the air. He immediately fell to his knees and covered his head on reflex. Slowly he lifted his arms and his head. Nothing. None of the buildings were alight. He was still there in the darkness. Yet, that explosion, it felt like it was nearby. Was that hers? Then, more deadened rumbles could be felt in the distance, much further away. As much as it puzzled him to no end, he still needed to find her. He quickly got to his feet and continued on his way with shaky steps. He was able to make it a few more feet before crumbling down to the asphalt ground again. His limbs trembled as another explosion shook the buildings.

 _Are they fighting?_

He slammed the ground with a closed fist. He wasn't going to be of use like this. Her specialty was explosives. How can he protect her if he collapsed every time she tossed one around? Gritting his teeth, he forced himself off the ground and tried his best to keep on his feet as he went towards where he thought was the source of the explosions. As the explosions continued, his body constantly tensed up, making his journey there quite slow.

Eventually, the explosions stopped. Feeling both relieved and wary at the same time, he reached an area with long metal rails and many metal boxes on large metal wheels. He didn't remember if he ever explored here. That train of thought was derailed when he heard a loud scream. He quickly became fast on his feet; containers on tracks gave way to scorched earth, twisted metal, and frosted street, but he disregarded all that in favor of getting to her on time. He found a metal carriage turned on its side and her on the ground, gripping her leg as her disguised voice kept at its shrill tone. Nearby were four other people. Two were prone, one was stirring and one more was cutting through something that looked like rope around the other's limbs.

Ever worried for Lin, he slowly stepped forward as to not startle the man, who was freeing his compatriots. He caught sight of him and suddenly, all four of them were engulfed in dark smoke. Shocked at the sight, Osmond just stood there, gawking in surprise. The loud breathing of his benefactor broke him out of it and he rushed over to a more calmer Bakuda. Somewhat.

"Why the hell are you out here?" she growled out as she laid on the ground, tired out from all the thrashing around.

"You were gone too long. I began to worry," he said as he looked over her, noticing the bleeding cut in her boot. It had been torn open, the crimson trim around the inky blackness. "Are you... alright?" he asked as he reached over, but was batted away.

"It still hurts, but I've slowly gotten used to it," she muttered as she deactivated the voice scrambler, "Not that it helps me. I still need to get to a doctor." Then, she shouted out in that language again. From behind him, he could hear heavy footsteps. Glancing to his side, he noticed a gang member coming to a stop, holding up his head with one hand. After addressing the man, she turned to him and said, "Pick me up very carefully. Follow him to the doctor."

Osmond nodded and gingerly picked her up bridal style. She hissed and slammed her fist on his brand, "I said carefully! Damned idiot."

Choosing to ignore that, he followed after the man, moving as cautiously as he could.

* * *

The shop lot Osmond got led to was less rundown than their apartment block, being closer to the south. After several seconds of banging and shouting, the shutters were opened and he was allowed to bring Bakuda inside. He was told to put her on a long chair and was then sent outside. Several agonized shouts later, he was recalled and was allowed to take her back. After another long walk, he laid her on the couch, propping her bandaged foot on the armrest. That pretty much left him to sleep on the floor. Then again, he wasn't to bothered by it as he had been in much worse conditions.

The next morning, he was awoken by being shoved in the shoulder. Getting up and looking at the now awake Lin, she said with a groan, "Coffee."

He was a little confused. Was it that swill she drunk in the morning? He had drunk coffee before but had never made it. The first time was rather bitter to taste and he rarely partook in it afterward save for some early mornings, where he found it quite effective to keep awake with. Thus, he asked, "How?"

After shooting him a glare, she then instructed him in making coffee. To which he discovered the interesting case of three-in-one packets, as well as what he assumed was powdered coffee beans. Simply fascinating.

After taking a deep sip, she let out a sigh of relief. She then frowned as she looked over her bandaged foot. "Damn it," she muttered. Looking over to him, she ordered, "Help me to my workshop. I have stuff to do."

After hoisting her up, he asked her as they walked over to the door, "What about the rescue of the dragon?"

"Lung? Oh, Oni Lee should have done that already. All those bombs that were triggered yesterday? All a great distraction," she replied with a savage grin.

"Bombs... I heard them. Where were they?" he asked.

"Oh, here and there. A transformer, train tracks far from here, a bridge, a school..." she explained as she opened the door.

"A SCHOOL!?" he exclaimed in horror as he froze mid-step.

"If you've forgotten, it was night time. Who the hell would be at school at night?" she fired back, annoyed at the sudden shout.

Despite her words, he was still troubled. The fact that she would be willing to send a bomb to a school shook him. "Were there... any other... places?" he asked hesitantly as he set her on her seat.

"Well, I sent one to a place a block away from Med-Hall as well as..."

"What's a Med-Hall? Is that a sanitarium?" he interjected.

"Hah! That's a new one," she smirked in amusement, "As much as I'd like to think so, no. It's a pharmaceuticals company. You know, they make drugs for the hospital... also had another one a block away..."

"A HOSPITAL!? WHY!?" he shouted, unable to believe she would go to these lengths to serve a distraction. This was too much.

"You have gone too far, Lin. Joining this gang is a mistake," he rebuked and gestured, "Sooner or later, there will be deaths."

"Too late for that. There were deaths last night," she retorted as she crossed her arms, looking rather annoyed that he was still in her workshop, "Look, they were expected. Bombs do that."

"And you don't feel a thing for their deaths?!" he shouted exasperatedly and threw his hands up in the air.

"Not really," she admitted as she shrugged, "Now can I tinker in peace?"

He stared at her in disbelief before turning around and leaving, closing the door behind him. He just couldn't believe what he just heard.

 _Was she always like this? Did this gang do this to her?_

He sat down on the sofa and cradled his head in his hands.

 _Did getting powers go to her head? Did the powers affect her head? Affect her mind?_

He didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do next.

 _I need to clear my mind... I think. The room is feeling heavy right now._

Making his decision, he got up and went to the door. Carefully closing the front door behind him, he tugged the cloth over his head and headed to the stairs. He needed a walk. The guard was nowhere to be seen, so he was able to leave without hassle. He didn't have a destination in mind, so he pretty much wandered around without much care for his surroundings. However, he eventually reached the building one block away from the hospital. The front part of the building, crumbling and devastated, had been cordoned off with yellow ribbons with black markings and words. He sighed as he gave it a look over.

 _I should have brought it up. I should have reminded her to steer away from attacking innocent people. I really should have..._

"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?" called out someone from above.

"Don't scare him off," chided another voice.

Looking around and up, he saw two people in the air. As they came closer and landed, he saw that one was carying the other. The carrier was clearly a girl, a tall young woman with blonde hair, dressed in white with a crown or tiara on her head. The other person was wholly covered in white robes and hood with a white scarf covering her lower face. The robes had a large red cross in front, something quite recognizable to him. It was this person that asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?" It sounded like another girl.

"I... am not hurt," he replied as he pulled his own shroud closer. Be it fate or bad luck, his chains clinked a little at the movement. The other girl's eyes narrowed.

"Ames, get back. Something sounded weird about him," she warned as she gently pulled the other back.

"Vicky?" the latter questioned.

"Please, I do not wish to be a bother," Osmond stated as he shook his head, turning to leave.

"Hey, I asked you something earlier. Answer me," she demanded as she pulled on his shroud.

He wasn't holding on it too tightly, so the ends slipped off his fingers and the shroud came off, revealing his chains. Surprised, he looked down at himself and then looked at them. The eyes of the medic looked to be in shock while the more visible girl looked quite livid. He held his hands up to show he didn't want to fight and said, "I can explain."

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **The Dragon has been captured. The Demon came seeking aid from his benefactor. Plans within plans were laid, unbeknownst to the Abomination. Explosives were planted. Gunpowder was set off and burned. Sparks and fire of tremendous proportions were released into the world. And yet, tables were also turned and a few toes were removed. And finally, secrets were revealed and the jailer of the Beast went to clear his head. It was quite unfortunate that he stumbled upon a hero and a healer.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. Here is the next chapter. Couldn't do much in February and so only started working on this in March. AT the very least, the chapter is done and ready to be looked through. Hopefully, I can go back to a regular posting, although I wouldn't be putting too much stock into that... still, I'll try. Now here, we cover the breaking out of Lung. The darkness is also still troubling him. Too bad Osmond does not have access to any torches, modern or otherwise. And then, I took him into somewhat new territory and have him encounter a certain two people.**

 **Also, I'm thinking that after doing this, I'll go back to F/SN side of the website and tackle something a bit more difficult. Let's say... Apocrypha. I think it is called.**

 **Well, what do you think of the chapter? Please leave a review and let me know? Later, everyone.**


	8. Laying Low

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Laying Low

The two girls continued to stare at him, one in shock, the other with a wary ferocity. Osmond kept his hands up as he did not want to get attacked.

"What happened to you?" the medic called Ames muttered out softly as her eyes took in the scars and the brand on his head.

"Are you an escaped convict or something?" the other one, Vicky, accused, "Heck, I should drag you to the police station to be sure."

"I rather not come to that option," he replied and shook his head, "I have done nothing wrong. I was just looking at the damage the explosives caused."

"Oh, so you're the one who helped with this?" she shouted angrily. Without warning, he felt a wave of fear wash over him. He froze and tensed up, gripping onto his chains tightly.

"Vicky! Aura!" the former reprimanded as she shook the latter's shoulder a little, pulling her back to face each other. As sudden as that feeling came, it went. He then relaxed his stance and took more interest in the two of them.

"But Ames, he could be dangerous," she said as she defended her actions.

"Really? I doubt the prisons here would be allowed to brand convicts," said the hooded girl, sarcasm dripping heavily. Turning back to him, she asked gently, "Please, let us help. Who did this to you?"

"Oh, these... were done a long time ago," he explained hesitantly, feeling that he could somehow trust them in spite of not knowing them, "I had delved into... something I should not have. The brand is proof. While I despaired my condition, I was able to escape confinement. And after arriving here, I found help through my benefactor. She may seem rough around the edges, but I like to think she has a hidden soft side to her."

"That sounds good to hear," the kinder one replied, the other girl scowling silently in disagreement, "But why hold on to these chains? Why are you still dressed this way? Also, why are you here by yourself? Where is your friend?"

"I... don't think I should say anything..." he muttered worriedly, suddenly thinking that they may very well try and force him to reveal Lin's location if they ever find out he knows here.

"Ames, can't you see how suspicious he is?" Vicky stated, "Yeah, that brand, not a chance he'd get it here., but..."

Then, a hand tugged at his shroud from behind. Osmond turned around and found an Oriental man dressed quite smartly in modern clothes. The strange thing was that he was looking quite spooked and was sweating profusely. Consequently, the other two girls also shifted their attention to him.

"Umm, I have a message for you," the man said as he wiped his brow, "I... you have to return to the apartment."

"...I rather not at the moment," the branded man replied after a pause, digesting what the message was. He had a feeling that it was Bakuda that sent him. However, this man didn't look like the normal gangers that hung around the place. No sign of any red or green anywhere.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Ames asked with concern, "Are you hurt? Do you need healing?"

"No... no, I don't... need healing..." said the man as he began to tremble. He glanced around him as he took out a handkerchief out of his jacket and wiped his drenched brow. He looked back at Osmond and asked again, "Can you please return? She... she... please, you have to return."

He stared at the sweaty man for a moment and replied with, "No. I rather not see her right now. What she did last night was... deplorable."

"Who are you two talking about?" interjected Vicky. As both men stared at her without a word, she continued, "You know what? I don't really care right now." Pointing at the abomination, she declared, "I do not trust you a bit, so you are coming with me to the police and..."

"No, God, No. Please, no!" shouted the smartly dressed man with sudden despair. He fell to his knees and begged, "Please! I beg you! Return now! If not, she would blow them up. Please!"

"...What...?" Osmond muttered in disbelief. He just stood there in shock, staring at the anguished man, inwardly wondering if his decision to take some time to think was a mistake. Perhaps... he had better go back and try to placate her?

"Blow them up? Who?"

And of course, he almost forgot about the other two. The kind girl's words shook him out of his surprised state. Then, the meaner girl said, "I think... he's talking about Bakuda, Ames."

"...What..."

"Who else is blowing people up?" she asked rhetorically. He could feel that sense of foreboding creeping back up again. She did start to look rather menacing.

He sighed, feeling that what he was about to say next would get a lot of protests, and said, "Yes, she is the one that helped me in my time of need... which is why I have to return, if only to stop her from killing whomever this man is talking about." He got a relieved, grateful look from said man.

"No, this is why you shouldn't go back to her," fired back Vicky, her volume slowly rising, "She let all this power get to her head and is now blowing up the city. You have to tell the PRT where she is. In fact, I ought to drag you to..." That hideous feeling returned full blast.

"Vicky! Aura!" Ames shouted. As it receded again, she stated, "Calm down. I don't like it either. If this was anyone else, I'd let you take him in. But..." She then turned to him and ask, "Is this true? You know Bakuda?"

He sighed again. "Yes, I do know her," he said reluctantly, "As harsh as her words are, I still received kindness from her. I still wish to try and talk her out of this. Maybe leave them entirely, if I can."

The two girls stood there, silently mulling over his words.

"I am going with this man. Thank you for hearing me out," he declared as he stepped over to the Oriental man's side, "Let us leave this place."

"Wait... at least let me check over your health before you go," Ames offered as she moved towards him.

"...Very well," he muttered as she took his hand.

After a moment, she said, "There were one or two dormant diseases that I successfully purged out of your body. Other than that, you seem to be quite healthy... Good luck."

"Er... thank you, kind miss," he muttered, unable to fathom as to how she knew all that as he walked off with the other man.

"Ames, I still think we should bring him to the PRT," he heard the other girl say.

"I know. But what if he can? He could help right this wrong. I don't think it would hurt to let him try."

* * *

Osmond trudged along, the man following from behind. He was determined to remedy this. Honestly, threatening violence just because he got angry and stepped outside for a while. In the end, someone found out about the link between him and Lin. Something she was seeking to avoid in the first place. His thoughts were interrupted when a ganger wearing ABB colors stepped out of an alley and started talking to the man. He just stood there, waiting for the discussion to finish. Eventually, the man left and the ganger motioned him over.

"Run and follow," he told him. Then, he shouted something and ran into the alley.

As he jogged after him, he could hear loud, explosive rattling being let off behind him. He almost froze then, but he steeled his nerves and ran after the retreating figure. After a turn or two, they exited out another street. Post haste, they made their way back to the apartment block. The ganger watching the front nodded and motioned them on. They made their way to the front door and knocked. After a moment of waiting and some odd noise coming from inside, the door opened and a masked Bakuda appeared. She then addressed the man, who reported what happened. At least, that's what he assumed happened.

She then told him, "Get inside." She then moved out of the way.

He did so and closed the door after him. He moved to the sofa and sat down, wondering what was going to happen after. He kept his head down and after a while, he heard something being dragged slowly over to him. Looking up, Bakuda had dragged over a chair from the dining table. Taking a seat, she took off the ask and said, "So, I heard that Panacea touched your hand."

"Who?" he asked with a confused face.

"Panacea. Amy Dallon. Ring a... right, right, your memory is gone... anyway, famous healer. Able to heal at a touch," she explained as she stared at him.

"Amy Dallon? I think... yes?" he muttered as he tried to make the connection, eventually settling on Ames being a reference to Amy.

She blinked, looking quite shocked. And then she asked, "She didn't mention anything about you being a cape? Anything at all?"

"...No?"

She sat there in silence, contemplating that simple answer. "If you're not a cape, then how can you transform like that? There's no way that's not a power."

"I have told you all this before. It is a curse, not a power," he stated back, suddenly feeling quite tired of all this, "All I have said has been the truth. I am from another world. I am cursed to be a beast, unfeeling and unthinking."

"Another world... you know what, we can save that for later. I should ask you this," she replied with an eerie calm, "Why did you leave?"

"I needed time to think things over," he replied.

"What's there to think about? Lung is free, he approves of what I did and I am being asked to make something new," she reasoned with a shrug, "The way I see it, I'm set right now."

"You killed people. It isn't right," he insisted.

"Really? What would you have me do, hmm? My power ain't exactly good for saving people," she fired back, "What do bombs do except blow stuff up? Kill people? Would you really I can do non-lethal stuff? Enlighten me, old man."

He had no words for that. Instead, he said, "Truthfully, I cannot deny that. What I don't understand is why you insist on purposefully continuing on lethal methods with innocent people around. They have nothing to do with this."

"To command their fear. Something Lung and I share in common," she sneered back at him.

"But why? Why the need to do all this?" he pressed on, feeling once more that sense of curiosity that he thought was lost long ago.

"I am the number one tinker and I want everyone to know that," she replied proudly, "Every other tinker has nothing on me. I have everything already inside my head. As soon as my name spreads, I will be recognized as the best there is."

"All this for just recognition!" he shouted in disbelief, "This is madness!"

"Just recognition? Just recognition!?" she yelled back angrily, "I had to constantly work my ass off at being the perfect student, the absolute best in all my subjects. And all that was almost screwed up by that grade! I will not have all my effort go to waste by that stupid lecturer! I will be recognized! There is no way you can understand the feeling of being one among the many with nothing to your name and everyone else scrambling for every single scrap of fame flung off the table!"

"I KNOW EXACTLY HOW THAT FEELS!" he roared out, his old feelings surfacing once more. Stopping to draw in more breath, he broke the silence as he slumped down, "I know how it feels. I was in the same predicament many a year ago. A single scholar among many. My peers seemed more successful, making more progress in their chosen fields than I was. Despite languishing in my state for many months, I was determined to make my mark. This began my descent into the archives, seeking something revolutionary. In my pursuit of such knowledge, I have delved deep into what I know now to be forbidden. There was a reason it was termed so, but I didn't care. Recognition was my goal, after all. In the end, however, all I had to show was a curse and being imprisoned in a prison for heretics and mistreated daily." Pausing to lock eyes with her, "I rather not have you go down dangerous paths, chasing after false glories."

She maintained her silence during his confession. He hoped that he would take his warning to heart irregardless of what she was thinking right now. Before anyone else could say a word, the main door rattled as it was banged on hard. A huff later, the mask found its way on her face and she got up and answered the door.

Unhindered. I guess she was right when she said she could withstand the pain. Hmm...

She stepped aside and the dragon man entered the apartment. He went and sat in the chair she was occupying moments earlier. "You have impressed me, Bakuda," his voice rumbled, "You have my thanks for aiding in my release."

"...You're welcome. But, there's no way you would be here just to say that," she said after a surprised pause.

"How sharp you are... With so many new 'members' and more territory in the Bay, we need to have a way to maintain our hold on it," he stated with an air of finality, " I refuse to have it snatched away. I need a weapon. You will make it for me."

"Hmm, ah... I think I have the perfect thing for that... but I'm going to have to need more space," she told him.

"Which is why you will be moving to a warehouse nearer to the docks," he said with a growl, "I know there has been a 'fly' spotted nearby. You will leave by today."

With his piece said, he got up and headed to the door. Lin quickly let him out and shut the door. She then took off her helmet as she turned to him, a frown marring her face.

"Is there something wrong?" Osmond asked with concern.

"I do have an idea. I know where he's going with this," she said calmly, "Do you know of the phrase about the sword of Damocles? He wants a threat so big that nobody would dare take back what I gained for him."

"You do not have to do this. You can walk away from this," he said.

"Not a chance," she muttered as she hobbled over to the workshop door, "He is the kind of guy that doesn't take betrayal lightly. No, I rather save my skin first. Hell, I haven't even had to time to think over what you said. Sounds so impossible, considering your name isn't Haywire."

"Who?"

"Nothing to do with you, I was just saying," she replied as she opened the door and motioned him in, "Anyway... I'll sleep on it. Meanwhile, you're helping me pack up some stuff. Most of it can be moved. Some of the finished product can be left behind for Lee. I'll probably have to give a shopping list to one of the Boyz, but that shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Now get to it."

Packing everything was surprisingly not as troublesome as he assumed it to be. With her directing, they were done in a good amount of time. Several boxes were moved to the workshop's other entrance where she let in a few men dressed in gang colors to move them. One wooden box was left behind, in her words, for Lee. He presumed to be that masked man named Oni Lee. With everything settled on a new jeep, they climbed in and moved on to Bakuda's new base and workshop.

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **The sisters two, both having different views on the accursed, even after discovering the truth. And then came the hidden threat. A passing gift of health later, the jailer of the Beast went on his way. Hurried on his journey through many twists and turns, he finally arrived at the extremely humble abode. Therein, he received news of the Dragon's retrieval. In return, the girl received knowledge of his story so far. As usual, it was met with disbelief. The Dragon appears without warning, granting a new quest to his wayward guardian. A weapon that would have shaken the entire land. After his departure, the time to move is nigh, with the promise of thought and contemplation.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. So, here we start with Osmond meeting Panacea and what some people call Collateral Damage Barbie. I hope I portrayed them well enough for that time. After some chit-chat, we get a visitor that desperately need our abomination to return to Bakuda. Under threat of course. So, after getting some free healing, he returns to the apartment. With that come a few surprises her way. If she didn't believe him before... well, at least she is a bit more open to the idea that he isn't from around these parts. At the same time, we have the dragon man Lung requesting for a weapon. The Worm readers would know what bomb he is wanting. Sadly, we never got to see how that went down, now did we?**

 **Well, what do you think of the chapter? Please leave a review and let me know.**


	9. Despondence

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Despondence

It took a few trips to set up in the Docks warehouse, Lin having sent the Boyz back to retrieve the computer and several other items. The brick building was huge with plenty of space. It was two stories high with walkways running around the interior of the perimeter. A small office was tucked in the top corner with a set of metal stairs leading up to the walkway around it. There were windows littered around on both floors. The place had a foul, salty smell to it. The first thing she had him do was to open the large metal doors to air the place. Then, she had him board up the windows, which meant having to search over the place and in nearby warehouses for spare wood. It wasn't much. At most, he could have mustered enough wood to board up the ground floor windows. However, her second order made him question her logic.

When he asked, she sighed and told him, "There's enough windows on the upper level to air the place. I rather have to windows boarded up to stop busybodies from peeking in. I'm supposed to build this for Lung, you know."

Hearing her explanation, he inwardly shrugged and continued on with his task. After the windows were done, all they had to do was wait. He waited around while she checked the building. Lights and water were still working, much to his surprise, as he thought such an abandoned building wouldn't that working. Perhaps the brigands had something to do with this, perhaps?

Stuff began coming in an hour later. The office was furnished with a working computer, proper furniture, beds and a place for brewing coffee. Everything else was left on the ground floor, for her to tinker with. A new routine was set; checking the building over, meditating and using the computer, in that order, while she commenced her project. She only stopped to eat lunch and dinner, which she personally took the time to retrieve, strangely enough. Other than that, she worked and slept. Her work ethic would have been commendable, if not for her project. A large bomb. She said this would be the last thing she built for that man, but it worried him that should he be successful in defending his new territory with this weapon, he would demand more from her. So in a sense, he hoped that Lung would get captured again so that they could escape. Maybe Oni Lee too. He could hope.

Another thing on his mind was whether she was still considering his words. Would she be able to accept the fact that he was not a denizen of this world? He believed she would come to do so. Then perhaps, his words would hold more weight to her. As if the world had heard his thoughts, a silver lining appeared during the rest of his time there. It was after dinner, where they were having a respite before retiring for the night.

"You know, I think you're the only 'A' I have ever gotten to have helped me this much," she casually said as she faced the computer.

"...Pardon?" he asked, a little confused as to what brought this on. And was she referring to her grades?

"I mean, most of my life, I have been pretty much an overachiever," she explained after a sigh, turning the chair around to face him, "I strove to be the best in every subject ever since I started schooling. I have this drive in me to prove that 'I am the best' to everyone. Been getting A's left and right all the way to uni. When I met you, it was around the semester exams. Then after a while, results and paper review. Then, the worst day of my life; being told that I couldn't get an A. The rest? You were pretty much part of it. Didn't really want you around, but you sorta grew on me. And the rest? Is history. Now, aren't you the only one here left with me? Doesn't that make you the only A to be helping me right now?"

"...In a sense, I suppose so?" he mused, finding her words interesting in itself. His hand gingerly reached for his brand, feeling somewhat proud that he was able to affect her this way, a rare feeling. Then, he asked, "What of my words? You did say you would think about it."

Bakuda crossed her arms, her head tilting down as she thought over it. "Yeah... about that," she started as she tilted her head up again, "It isn't impossible... since we have Aleph. However, you being dumped here after fighting some monster? Kinda far-fetched? Nobody ever reported anything about this." With further gesturing, "Yeah, maybe we haven't discovered any of that yet, but... ugh... if there are such things, Haywire must have had a huge amount of luck to not meet any of those first, huh? God, that doesn't make a bit of sense. Guh... moving on. The fact that your power isn't a cape thing... you know, the fact you're here... and you exist... is so improbable... yet you're here right in front of me." With a continuous groan, her head fell into her hands. "Absolutely ridiculous," she muttered into them, "What you say doesn't make sense, but you're here so it has to be true, somehow... I feel like I'm gonna have a migraine."

He stared at the floor for a moment. After some thought, he said, "Perhaps we should turn in for the night. You spend so much time with that weapon that..."

"Do you miss your world?" she asked suddenly as she lifted her head to look at him.

That question. He had barely thought about it ever since he escaped here. In a sense, he was quite enamored by all the advances humanity had made over the years. But now, he was forced to think about it again. "I have to say...no. You know what I said about my history, yes?" he asked. Getting a nod from her, he continued, "After escaping my imprisonment, I was hunted down for a while. I faced many sleepless nights, eventually asking for shelter from a stagecoach driver and getting free transport that brought me to a fishing hamlet. Unbeknownst to me, the local nobleman had been hiring outsiders to try and clear out the surrounding lands of brigands and cultists. It was baffling at first, but it eventually dawned on me how dangerous it was after a few... sorties. Before you ask, I would rather not tell you of these missions. They were... harrowing. Safe to say, as I have yet to discover any trace of my former world here, I probably would not be going back."

After some silence, she reiterated his words, "Alright. Time to go the sleep. Let's go."

* * *

The sun peeked over the horizon, it's shine spilling over the warehouse and filtering through the windows of the upper floor. Its rays fell onto the opaque lenses of the gas mask of the only parahuman in the building. Bakuda's breathing was even and unhurried as she looked out of the building.

"Stiil no sign of the messenger," she muttered softly as she looked down. Not a sight of anything red or green. The arrangement, if she had to put a word to it, was brilliant. To have someone checking in daily just to make sure nothing was wrong. With the entirety of the ABB on edge, she needed to know when and if Lung needed the bomb she had finished a few days ago. Notices morning, noon and evening through messenger and food delivery. Not to mention lookouts around the warehouse in nearby buildings. Hearing a creak and some rustling jolted her out of her thoughts. She turned round to see Osmond getting off his sleeping mat.

After catching sight of her, he mumbled out, "I thought you were already downstairs."

"Not today, apparently," she grumbled out, "My messenger hasn't arrived yet."

"What messenger?" he asked in confusion.

"The messenger that says we are still in the clear. That we don't have to use the bomb yet," she explained as she went back to looking outside, "And right now, I don't see him."

"...Concerning," she could hear him say as he shuffled over to her. Then, he asked, "So what is in the future for you? Would you be willing to leave after this?"

"I don't really know. Remember when I said he doesn't take to betrayal very kindly?" she reminded him.

"Then maybe it is a good thing that the messenger is absent," he reasoned as he turned to her, "Wouldn't it be better for him and Lee to be captured? We would have every excuse to leave."

She sighed and turned away from the window. "Probably. I would also rather not have my biggest work here fall into PRT hands," she replied as she walked over to look at the large contraption on the ground floor. Reasonably sized and big enough to fit the back of a large van or pickup truck. Just need to pull a tarp over it.

"Perhaps a way to disable it if it should fall into their hands?"

She fell silent. As much as she would rather blow it up, it would have been too much for the Bay to handle. Not the mention the EMP it would generate. But if she didn't hold on to it, she might as well kiss her freedom goodbye. Her bombs did cause deaths. No doubt they would want to put her away for good. She couldn't have that. Not a chance. So how the hell can she move this? She didn't have any vehicles nearby, so what the hell is she gonna use?

She hadn't noticed that he had moved to the outer window. "Lin, there are visitors," he stated out loud, surprising her. She quickly rushed over and peered outside. She grit her teeth when she noticed that they were from the PRT.

"How the hell did they slip past the lookouts?" she growled out as she pulled him away. "We have to leave. Now," she told him as she started putting on the rest of her costume, namely her body armor.

"I am ready," she heard him muttering. She smirked as she went to pack away her tools.

"Bakuda, we know you're in there. Do come out with your hands in the air and take the easy way, please?" the rather jovial sound of Assault's voice echoing through a megaphone, "The hard way is not recommended."

"He sounds quite happy," Osmond commented, sounding a little puzzled.

"Ignore him, time to leave this place," she said, slinging a bag over one shoulder and her grenade launcher over the other.

"Sorry, you should've replied. Hard way it is!"

A loud crash exploded downstairs. Both of them rushed over to the inner window and peered down. A lot of dust flying and several bricks scattered on the floor. Based on that, she assumed it was Battery who busted a hole in the wall. Then several figures came into view. Dauntless' crackling shield came into view as he held it over his head, shielding Vista and Clockblocker as well as himself. His lance was being held along his back. The trio were moving towards the bomb.

This irked her quite a bit. She snapped to the office door but was pulled back by Osmond. "What are you doing?" he whispered harshly.

"I need to stop them. They are gonna do something to my bomb," she whispered back, mirroring his tone of voice.

"I thought we were going to escape. We should let them be and make a run for it," he attempted to reason.

"No! I am not letting that bomb fall into their hands," she retorted angrily. Dropping her bag, she hefted up her launcher and said, "I still have a pain grenade and a time stop grenade in this, so I'm stopping them!"

"Please, we shouldn't do this. We may still have a chance to escape this place," he pleaded.

"Denied. I am going to take back my bomb and..." she trailed off as she noticed some strange gas suddenly being emitted by the floor nearest to the door. It suddenly solidified into a cloaked and armored person with two black crossbows. The stern-faced mask faced hers for a moment, both capes frozen in place.

"Screw this. You're first," shouted Bakuda as she aimed at the new intruder.

"Well, fuck you too," Shadow Stalker shouted back as she went intangible. Much misfortune indeed, as the bomb tinker had already pulled the trigger.

"Damnit!" the former shouted as she pushed Osmond to the ground, the grenade ricochetting on the floor, to the wall and then towards them. Everything went white.

* * *

Osmond's vision cleared slowly. He was taken unawares of the push that happened. The first thing he saw when he came into focus was Lin standing over him, standing stock still like a statue. She seemed to be trembling greatly, her hands clenched as if resisting something great.

"...Bakuda?" he called out, unsure if he should address her by her other name but decided to use her cape name instead.

"...urgh...grateful..." she replied as if muttering through gritted teeth, "...hrg...this... feels like... them?"

"Heh, take that loser," said the dark cape as the interloper reappeared, "Shoot me again, why don't you?" Putting two fingers to the side of the head, the cape gloated, "Stalker to Console. I found Bakuda and took her down easy one on one. Not even her flunky here was able to do anything!"

"Grrrgh... screw you... stupid girl..." she rasped out as she was able to move a little out of her paralysis, "I still... have... one present... for the lot... of you... damn PRT."

At this point, he didn't know what to do as he got up. They were cornered in this room by this Stalker girl. Perhaps if he used his transformation... would they be able to escape?

"No, I'm not making this up... Kid, can it. Hold on, the tinker is getting mouthy," the girl said as she walked over to the recovering Bakuda. Taking the bolt out of her crossbow, she jabbed it into Bakuda's neck, much to his horror. He was able to catch her falling body in time as she walked back to the wall to continue gloating, "Now where was I... yeah, kicking Bakuda's ass without breaking a sweat... sorry, sir... but..."

He pretty much tuned her out as he eyed the bolt. It had some weird contraption on it. Looking at the wound on the neck, he could barely see it. What did she do to her? Was it poison? That thought made him furious. It seemed that poison was the case. Her body was weak and though he couldn't see the condition of her skin, she would probably be pale with white lips. He placed her on the floor gently in growing distraught, the fire in him slowly being stoked into an inferno by unknown means.

 _She is dead_...

... **Vengeance**...

 _I have failed_...

... **Revenge**...

 _I broke my promise_...

... **Kill**...

 _I must avenge her_...

... **Them**...

 _She will be avenged_...

... **All**...

... _Yes_.

With an agonized shout, his chains broke and burst forth. The heavier pieces fell like rain, the more broken links rocketed out and crashed into the wall. His skin slowly getting tinted a reddish-brown color. His veins bulged out as his blood became a glowing green with inhuman bile. His feet lengthened and broke, his heels rising like the hind legs of an animal. His head elongated, looking more beast-like. Two horns grew out of the front of his skull until it was just as long as his lengthened head. His arms grew out as his muscles amassed and caused him to hunch over, his left arm growing a relatively grotesque size compared to his right.

He then sent a harsh glare at Stalker, who had turned to look when the links hit the wall.

She took one look at him and said, "...Fuck."

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **The journey as short enough, as with all journeys utilizing metal carriages. It took many days. To have it habitable. To build up the monstrous weapon. To guard the infernal device. Within those days, confessions were given, discussions were had. After all that had been said and done, thus begins the assault. Their humble abode, hidden from the world, intruded upon. The flimsy defenses are easily broken. Too much time was taken to mount an opposition. And now, be wary. The Beast... has been let loose.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. Here, we move to the warehouse where Bakuda builds the bomb itself. She decided to share something with him as well as mull over the bombshell that Osmond dropped on her. She had been putting it off long enough. Even if she believes him, it still sounded too fantastical, too far-fetched for her. And then there's the next day.**

 **Instead of a long drawn out cat-and-mouse fight after the bomb, we get something like this. Makes me wonder if I'm moving too fast with this. But, I did intend to only have this as a detour... Anyway, cue Shadow Stalker. Miss Predator here is about to meet an even larger predator. Already stressed out by Bakuda saving him from her own grenade, he mistook the tranq bolts Stalker uses as poisoned bolts. Keep in mind, our hired hands in Darkest Dungeon do not capture their enemies. And stressed-out people tend to do irrational things.**

 **Well, what do you think of the chapter? Please leave a review and let me know.**


	10. Darkest

**I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.**

Darkest

Clockblocker gingerly picked up the shrunken bomb with all the care in the world. It did not explode. He and Vista let loose a sigh of relief.

"Alright, time to bring this out for disposal," said Dauntless as he kept his eyes peered to their surroundings. He then motioned them to follow him.

"Was she bluffing earlier? There's no way that Stalker took out Bakuda and some flunky by herself," the clock patterned Ward pointed out as he followed after the Protectorate hero carefully, "Maybe we should foam this thing and let me freeze it."

"You heard Armsmaster. She wasn't showing any signs of lying," the older man reasoned, "All that is probably embellishment. Now, let's get this..."

"SHIT!"

They looked up and saw Shadow Stalker materializing on the metal walkway above, facing the upstairs office. With a loud crash, the door exploded outward and sprayed broken glass all over. She then shifted to her shadow state and flew down the stairs as a huge horned beast charged out after her. He snapped at her as she flew past but bit only empty air.

"Vista, Clock, retreat outside," Dauntless ordered as he readied himself. Trusting them to listen, he charged forward, just as the beast leaped after the reforming breaker. She caught sight of both of them and shifted again, going through the nearest wall. His shield slammed into the landing beast, sending it crashing to the side.

"Armsmaster, I think we found the Brockton Bay Devil," he spoke aloud after pausing to tap the earbud in one ear.

"I see. I would presume that the follower Shadow Stalker was talking about was a cape too, based on what she is shouting about here," was the reply, "Is there any way we can bring him in?"

"Not sure," the former answered as the Devil got to his malformed feet and shaking his head, "I don't think he's in a talking mood. So far, he was very aggressive towards Stalker with harmful intent."

"Very well, I shall enter the building to assist you," the latter said before he cut the connection.

"Better make it quick," he muttered as he prepared himself, the beast roaring aloud before running straight at him.

* * *

The two Wards ran out of the hole in the wall, with the time-themed cape clinging on to the bomb for dear life.

"What in the world was that thing?" Clockblocker breathed out as they came to a halt near the nearest PRT van.

"What makes you think I know?" Vista retorted, scanning for a familiar face among the troopers here. She scowled as she spotted Shadow Stalker, who was facing Armsmaster. "Hope she's getting a chewing out," she muttered under her breath.

"Hell, I wanna know how that thing appeared. You think she could explain again," he asked adjusted his grip on the bomb, his line of view catching the same thing.

"No time like the present then," she quipped as she watched Armsmaster move out towards the hole, while Shadow Stalker walked off the other way, towards them.

"Er... ok. Stalker?" he mused before asking the other Ward as she neared them, "So... what's up with the flunky-turned-monster?"

They couldn't exactly read her face, but she replied harshly with, "I don't need to tell you anything."

"Well, so much for finding out what happened," the former muttered as the masked Ward turned her back on them and leaned hunched over against the van. Turning back to Vista, he asked he held up the bomb, "So... what do we do about this?"

"If she was telling the truth, hold on to it? Even if Bakuda was taken out, maybe be ready to freeze it just in case?" she reasoned. She looked around and said, "Maybe there's something you can use to cover it and then you can just prepare to freeze it.

Meanwhile, when the Wards ran through the hole like their heels were on fire, Assault had gone over to Battery and nudged her for attention. "Bakuda supposedly taken out and another cape springs out of nowhere? I'm getting bad vibes here," he commented as he looked over to the hole in the wall.

"You heard what Shadow Stalker told Armsmaster," she replied seriously, the electric blue lines on her costume beginning to glow, "Just be ready. We may have to jump in."

"I dunno..." he muttered in thought, "You know how she did things before the Wards, right? What's to say she isn't going back to that behind our backs?" After a pause, he declared softly, "I think I'll have a talk with Bakuda. Catch you later, Puppy."

"How many times did I tell you..." she started to say before Dauntless crashed out of the hole in the wall, drawing everyone's attention.

* * *

The grotesque hand fell, the nails-turned-claws raking across the forcefield. The Devil then took a few steps back and paused to look at his tingling hand. He growled loudly as Dauntless stood firm, shield raised and on the defensive. He then stepped forward and threw a punch with its smaller arm, the electrified field sparking and causing slight electrical burns on the skin. He repeated the cycle of stepping back, pausing to look and punch another time before the PRT hero heard someone step through the hole.

"Status report," Armsmaster enquired as his leader took position behind him.

"He is surprisingly cautious," he stated as he kept a close eye on the Devil, "He doesn't seem to know his way about tinker tech. Doesn't seem to want to back down either. I'm guessing Changer with Muscle Brute level Four."

"Then we have to take him down now before he decides to escalate," former replied as he heard him electrify his halberd.

The later couldn't reply as another punch impacted his shield. With the Devil seemingly distracted, Armsmaster charged forward to try and stab him. It took a few steps back and ducked under the blade, the electrified field sparking against his horns. He then sprang forward, go past the team leader and rammed headfirst into his shield. Surprised and unable to muster a counter, he couldn't do a thing as the changer continued his charge unhindered, both of them bursting out of the hole. The hero flew back and skidded on the floor back first while the enemy halted and looked around. It started growling as he found the target of his ire. He was only able to take a single step towards Shadow Stalker when he roared in pain and grabbed his ears.

A cape wearing a golden lion head stepped forward as the PRT squad took cover behind the vans, his mouth open. Triumph paused to take another breath, his opponent shaking his head. He unleashed another sonic roar and the beast fell to his knees, grasping his head again. He then focused on the PRT cape with a growl. Triumph took a few more steps before he pushed himself off the ground with his legs and sent his horned head into the golden lion's mouth. Disrupting the cry, he then grabbed the cape by the throat and threw him on the van. He then roared out in pain when Armsmaster struck him from behind.

"Stand down, Devil," the cape leader ordered as he blocked a backhand to his chest, "You are outnumbered. There is no escape. Should you greviously harm anyone here, you will be adding to the body count that could send you to the BPCC."

The monstrous human roared in reply as he lunged at him with open mouth, revealing a row of dagger-sharp teeth. Calmly, he put his halberd in front to block. The abomination clamped down on the metal shaft and with a surprise move, broke it apart as his malformed hand slammed down on one end. Coincidentally, he also slammed Armsmaster to the ground. He opened his mouth to let the pieces of the shaft fall out and then turned around to look for the main target of his ire. Before he could get an eye on her, a blue-white and dark grey streak slammed into him.

* * *

Assault only paused to look at Dauntless before racing to the nearest van to retrieve a jet injector with the counteragent for Stalker's tranq bolts. then, he whizzed past the troopers, the charging Battery, into the hole and up the stairs. Entering the small office, he came upon an unconscious Bakuda.

"There you are, bomber girl," he muttered as he knelt down and gave her a shot, the injector hissing in response, "Now, let's see if..."

That train of thought got interrupted by the shudder of the building as well as the faint sonic reverberation from Triumph's roar. It was then replaced by a more beastly roar. He was shaken out of it when the ABB cape lot out a groan.

"Welcome back to the real world," he greeted jovially, "Now, I didn't exactly give you a full dose, so you should still be stiff in some places."

"Urgh... pain grenade," she mumbled as she tried to get up. Catching sight of him, she growled, "What -urgh- you want?"

"Well..." he trailed off as glanced off to the side, "Your 'flunky', as Stalker calls him, is going mad outside. Now, he may or may not be known as the BB Devil and he may or may not have a body count, but whether he was defending himself or not is up to debate. Still, if he causes any deaths outside, that may not be the case anymore."

"...Damn it... hindsight... hmph," she groaned out as she clumsily tried to get to her feet, "Stupid... stupid... idiot."

"So... I guess you're gonna cooperate?" he asked with a grin, already having a good guess as to what the answer would be, "Need any help down the stairs?"

"...Fine."

* * *

Battery slammed into the Devil, sending him sprawling on his back. She ran up to him as to not leave him to much time to recover and restrain him. He was a little faster than that and she ducked and weaved between a punch and a swipe. She landed a punch on his snout, followed by swinging a left hook to the side of his head. Stunned, he wasn't able to stop the uppercut headed his way. Yet, even after the series of punches, he didn't go down. He roared and swung his enlarged arm again. She dodged and he raised his other arm to block two jabs. The abomination then clenched his left fist and punched her. She reacted in time and blocked it with both her arms. The force lifted her slightly but her footing was stable and she didn't topple over. The exchange placed them opposite each other with only a few paces between them. He growled as they slowly circled each other, somehow knowing he had to take her out if he wanted another chance to hunt down the wrong-doer.

Suddenly, the blue-white lines on her costume began to flicker a little. Without taking her eyes of the enemy, she shouted, "Running low! Dauntless, get ready!"

The abomination roared and stepped forward to punch her. She ducked and crossed him, her punch landing square on his snout. He cried out in surprise and pain, moving to swipe with his enlarged left. With astonishing accuracy, she punched it away and gave it another uppercut. She quickly followed up by stepping up, grabbing his right hand and swinging him around, right into Dauntless' crackling shield. The Spartan-themed hero had quickly dashed up when he heard her call and rammed his defense into the Devil's back. He was airborne for a few seconds before he landed on all fours.

At that moment, no one spoke a word. The stench of burnt cloth and flesh surrounded Osmond. His breath was heavy and ragged, the jolt of electricity having sent a numbness through his body. Slowly, he got to his feet, having shrugged off the paralytic effect and recovering from his stunned state. He turned around to face them, the PRT and the capes. His head twitched and took stock on them. A growl escaped his maw and put them on the defensive.

"Devil of Brockton Bay, you will stand down. Now," announced Armsmaster as he took position next to Dauntless, having retrieved a replacement halberd from his motorcycle, "I repeat. Stand. Down. Now."

In reply, the transformed man roared in defiance and lowered himself in preparation to leap at the two Protectorate capes.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to the owner of the voice. With slow and heavy steps, Bakuda walked towards the abomination, favoring her right side.

"In hindsight..."

Another step closer.

"...should have explained..."

And closer still she went.

"... PRT to you..."

Another step.

"Then this..."

One step.

"Stupid."

Another.

"Asinine."

Another one.

"Reaction."

And she was right in front of him.

"...wouldn't have happened."

She stood there, hunched over the side, glaring at him through the opaque lenses.

"Change back," she ordered.

He didn't react for a moment. Then, he started growling and opened his maw.

"I said... Change Back!" she yelled at him as she slapped his jaw, much to the shock of the spectators.

He took a step back, clutching his head. And then, he began to shrink. Arms losing muscle. Horns retracting into his skull. His jaw shortening back to his face. His feet compressing and returning back to their original length. He lost his red tint, his green blood. And finally, the clinking of knocking metal came from the window and from the orifices of the building as the broken chains flew through the air, back to his body. As the PRT watched in fascination and surprise, the links were reforming and rejoining back to their original form. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"You are... alive," he rasped out hesitantly.

"Idiot," she hissed out at him.

"Praise the Light," he rejoiced, raising his arms in the air in spite of her harsh words.

"Hmph, thanks, I guess," she muttered softly.

"Huh... I feel... sleepy," he said suddenly as he slumped forward to the ground, revealing Assault, who was holding one of Stalker's tranq bolts.

"Well, couldn't exactly have him blow up again, could I?" he said as he shrugged.

"For now," she growled out.

"Bakuda, you will be held accountable for the bombing spree as well as the deaths of several civilians," declared Armsmaster as he clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead. Take me in. I'll play nice for now," she sneered back without bothering to face him.

"What makes you say that?" Assault asked curiously.

"You see, I'm a genius. I can escape from whatever place you decide to throw me in. Whenever. Wherever," she gloated as she grinned confidently behind her mask, "And when I do, I'll be back here to spring out my friend. Then, we will leave. Nobody can stop us. Nobody. You hear me?"

* * *

The other boxes flipped off, signifying the conference call to be over, leaving a singular person on Emily Piggot's screen.

"Now that the general meeting is done with, let us speak about possible solutions to the Brockton Bay Devil," said the person on the screen.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how to go about this," admitted Piggot, a rare thing to do, "I am very leery to the idea of waking him up and conducting Power Testing. I rather not have a Changer that destructive rampaging through the building."

"True. I myself would agree. But officially... this is just a stop gap," the screen said, "Until a more permanent solution is found. If you agree to this, I shall fax this to your side later."

"I would appreciate this quite a bit," she replied as she shifted herself on her creaking chair.

"Very well. If you can't propose another solution... you will have no choice but to awaken him," the person warned, "Perhaps I should include the clause of lifting sedation after Bakuda's sentencing and subsequent incarceration." After some thought, she asked, "Anything further, Director Piggot?"

"Nothing further," the former affirmed.

"Very well. Have a good day, Director Piggot," the latter wished as the screen went blank.

"Good day to you, Director Costa."

To be continued...

 **His Rambling Notes:-**

 **The Great Weapon has been disabled. Its grand payload now lay inert after much preparation. With its creator missing, all seemed safe. At that moment, the Beast was roused, its anger stoked and great. How fortuitous that our heroes are more than a match to his enduring constitution. The Spartan. The Weapon. The Voice. The Power. Still, both sides seemed to be at a stalemate, until one more entered the fray. It took Gunpowder to beat back the Beast. With a slap, he was brought down. Soothed. Sedated. In the end, he has become a prisoner of his own body, doomed to be at the mercies of the heroes and the elements alike.**

 **Ruin has come to the Bay. It is an Abomination. Tread well.**

 **Real notes:-**

 **Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. Today, we see the end of the fight. Yes, Vista shrunk it down. No, Clock hasn't frozen it yet. Not after what Stalker boasted about before returning to radio silence. And after Osmond appears, we get to see what nickname the PRT thought up for him. Jersey has its own Devil, so now the Bay has one too. Now, Osmond has faced electrical attacks before. But, not like this. Not how Dauntless and Armsmaster do it. Then, Triumph making like the Dragonborn. Assault? Strangely, Assault went to retrieve Bakuda. Back outside, Battery moving in like a bang! And in the end, it was Bakuda that finally diffused tensions. Anyone expect that? Also, Bakuda making a promise she won't know wouldn't be able to keep. Sorry, Bombergirl.**

 **As for the 'to be continued line', this is the last chapter of my short outing to doing a Worm crossover. I will be back, but I wanna try something else first. So, I'll see you all next time.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know** **what do you think of the chapter** **.**


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